


The Heiress and The Thief

by WillowKovalo



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate History, Alternate Universe, Badass Laura Hollis, Engineer Laura, Eventual Smut, F/F, Hollstein - Freeform, Human Carmilla Karnstein, Journey, Slow Burn, Steampunk, Thief Carmilla, Turn of the Century
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-01-23 22:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 34,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12517968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowKovalo/pseuds/WillowKovalo
Summary: Laura Hollis is the heir to the wealthy Hollis estate, but she is more interested in tinkering with her machines than dealing with her inheritance. After receiving a letter from the famed but reclusive inventor LaFontaine, she decides to take her life into her own hands and make her way to Silas. But a fierce gang of bandits led by an alluring dark haired thief, Carmilla, have other plans.





	1. The Letter

“Come on now, turn for me baby. Just one more little turn and then, we, are…not good, not good, not good, noooo..” Laura Hollis groaned with dismay as the spindly legs of the metal contraption in front of her went limp, crashing down on her work bench for the thousandth time. A puff of smoke emerged from the delicate metal work, prompting another groan. “Well that isn’t promising. Aaand there goes the tiny, tiny gears across the floor. Lovely.” 

She pulled off her magnifying spectacle mask and tossed it aside, wiping sweat off her brow and blinking as her vision adjusted. She glanced at the clock on her desk - her own design - and saw that several hours had slipped by. 

She most certainly missed formal dinner with the Krantzsky’s, a visiting noble family trying to curry favor with her father. House Hollis was easily the oldest and most influential family in the region, and that meant frequent visitors. Laura tried to think of how she would explain her absence to her parents. 

Getting lost in her machines was not an excuse that worked anymore, and in fact it had never worked all that well with her mother. And now that she was at a “marriageable age” - her mothers words, definitely not hers - her absences were more of an issue than ever. Her father was more understanding, as Sherman had passed on his love of tinkering to her and encouraged her to pursue her passion. The workshop she was in now was her tenth birthday present that her father had built and stocked himself. Her mother on the other hand did not understand even a little bit. Her only concern in life as of late seemed to be finding a suitable match for her daughter.

Laura sighed as she hunted down the tiny pieces on the floor and thought about the cavalcade of suitors her mother had presented to her lately, the latest being Louis Krantzky. Dear, sweet Louis, who thought that the best way to win her favor was to talk endlessly of his hunting exploits, not knowing that Laura hadn’t eaten meat since she was eight years old and was a staunch defender of all things furry. Her increasingly ill and horror stricken face had not deterred him in the slightest.

Her mother didn’t seem to take note of or care about her distinct lack of interest in men, either, although Laura had to admit that she was an equal opportunity meddler. She had invited a few noble women to visit as well, although most of them were much older than Laura and their predatory gazes gave her the creeps. Louis might have been dull and obtuse, but he wasn’t even the worst of the bunch that her mother had been inviting to the house lately. All of them were some combination of exceedingly old, achingly dull, or extremely arrogant. All they had in common was that they were all rich and from respected families.

Laura knew why her mother was doing it, of course, not that she could tell anyone about that. The truth of the matter was that because of some bad investments over the years, House Hollis was in financial ruin and had been for some time. It was not widely known outside of their household though, and her parents were desperately trying to keep up appearances so as not to lose standing in the region. Laura had seen the ledgers and knew the truth. She knew that a profitable match for her was, in her mother’s mind, the only way they could recoup their losses.

The problem was that Laura was not interested in marrying for money or political reasons, despite her mother’s wishes. Or marrying at all, for that matter. There was only one thing in her life that could hold her attention for long, and it was her work. Laura thought that if she could invent something useful, she could bring in money for the family in another way. At the moment, that meant working on this infernal machine that wouldn’t stay up on its damned legs. If she could get it to work right, she knew that it might be of interest to the military for exploring mine-laden battlefields without risking lives.

After finding the last gear, she rose and pulled her work apron off with a sigh, stretching her aching back. Time to face the music. The music being a tiny yet formidable woman with a penchant for whisper yelling. Laura shut the door to her small shop and started making her way down the extensive halls of the Hollis estate. She passed some of the house staff in the halls, smiling brightly and making a point to greet them by name and inquire about their lives. 

There were much fewer people in the estate now than when she was younger, but a few remained, mostly to keep up appearances. She liked to know things about the people who worked for her parents, and had since she was a little girl. She could often be found as a child sitting cross legged and asking endless questions to the staff, most of whom were willing to humor her. Once, the house steward Lola Perry had told young Laura offhand about her extensive crystal collection. 10 year old Laura had emerged from her new shop a few days later with a custom display shelf with a nifty rotating tables built in. Perry had burst in to tears at the display and had been deeply devoted to Laura ever since. For Perry, that meant fussing over her constantly. Laura found it endearing but sometimes exhausting to have not one but two women constantly trying to manage all aspects of her life. 

As if on cue, Perry came hustling around the corner and almost bumped in to Laura. She squeaked and jumped a little, putting a hand over her heart. To say Perry was tightly strung was an understatement, and often Laura had to remind her to breathe over an undusted mantle or an errant machine part in odd places. 

“Lady Laura! I’ve been looking for you for an age. Obviously I should have checked your workshop but I’ve been told to stay out by you and oh my goodness look at you you are filthy I’ll draw you up a bath -” Laura grabbed Perry’s wrists gently and widened her eyes. 

“Per, slow down. And I told you to not go in my shop because last time that happened you organized every bolt by size and almost had a panic attack over the oil stains.”

“Ah yes. I was looking for you because you told me to inform you when a letter came from that inventor, right? Well, this came for you today.” She brandished a wrinkled envelope with what appeared to be ink stains on the outside. Laura gasped and grabbed the letter, tearing it open and letting the envelope fall to the floor, much to Perry’s chagrin. She had been waiting for a response for weeks! She read through the letter several times, at first shocked and then grinning from ear to ear.

Dear Ms. Hollis,

Thanks for your letters - your many, many letters - and for your   
interest in my work. If you ever find yourself in Silas, I would be  
happy to take a look at your work and perhaps even   
collaborate on research. I am interested to hear your thoughts  
on my theory on monopole magnets, considering your recent tests.

Yours in science,  
LaFontaine

Laura screamed and jumped up and down with delight, and handing the letter to a befuddled Perry. Perry read it over and smiled at Laura, patting her gently on the back. “That’s wonderful dear. Who is this…” she glanced down at the letter again. “LaFontaine?” 

Laura tried to slow her racing thoughts enough for a response. “Oh, right. LaFontaine is a scientist- a brilliant scientist! - doing amazing, incredible, groundbreaking work and the person I want most to take me as a ward and teach me everything.” She grabbed Perry by the shoulders, staring excitedly in to her widened eyes. “Per, this is the chance I have been waiting for. I have to go. In fact, I should leave tonight. Do you think the stable is still open? I’ll have to pack my tools and my project of course but that should -”

Perry grabbed Laura’s shoulders back and shook her gently, breaking the spell momentarily. 

“My lady…you must know I cannot let you go without talking to your parents first. And beyond that, there is no way on this good green earth that I am letting you leave in the night.” Laura’s face fell, and Perry softened a bit. “It’s an exciting opportunity dear, and no one deserves it more than you. I will help in whatever way I can.” Laura threw her arms around the thin woman and then drew back with a glint in her eye.

“I will talk to my parents. But I am going.” Laura grinned and then rushed off to reply to LaFontaine. The scientist had to know that we was coming, and soon. She just wasn’t quite sure how to convince her parents of that.

 

***

 

A few weeks later, Laura hoisted her final oversized trunk in to the carriage with a thunk. Her mother wasn’t pleased that she was leaving, but between her and Perry, Laura was sure that she had enough packed in the small motor carriage to last the next decade. She surveyed the mismatched trunks with satisfaction - several of them contained her specialty tools and projects. 

She still couldn’t believe she was going. It had taken several weeks of cajoling and bargaining but eventually Laura’s dogged persistence had worn them down. That…and the small matter of the bargain she had made with her parents to allow her to go. She thought back to their last conversation on the matter.

Eileen Hollis’s brown eyes, so much like her own, had been hard and set. “No, Sherman, I will not allow Laura to pursue fanciful dreams while this family is struggling.”

Laura had struggled to keep her eyes from rolling. It was hard to take her seriously while living in a gigantic estate with staff taking care of their needs. She tried to catch her father’s eye but he was determinedly not looking at her. She started to say something, but her father cut her off. 

“Eileen, if Laura wants to study, we shouldn’t stop her. Education is important.” Laura smiled at him and started to speak, but her mother jumped in again.

“Education is a luxury, and one that she doesn’t have. She went to school - an expensive school, at that - and spends her days cooped up in that blasted room. She needs to focus on what is important here, what is important for this family. What we need is an alliance that will put this family back in our rightful place. You know we are on the knife’s edge, Sherman, I can’t believe you’re even taking this request seriously.”

Laura had enough. She slammed her hands down on the table, drawing startled glances from both of her parents. “Mom, dad, please stop talking about me as if I’m not standing right in front of you.” Her mother seemed shocked by the interruption, but at least Sherman had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. 

“This is my life you are talking about. Mine. Mom, I know you want me to do what’s best for the family. But what I want to do and what is best for the family are not mutually exclusive.” Her mother made as if to speak, but Laura barreled through. “I’m going to Silas to work with LaFontaine,” she said matter of factly, holding her hand up when she saw her mother about to interrupt. “But first, I will visit the Krantzky estate. It’s sort of on the way. I’m willing to make an…arrangement with them, on the family’s behalf.”

Her mother’s eyes went wide, and she placed a thin hand over her heart. “Laura, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Laura nodded, ignoring the twist in her stomach. She sighed and set her shoulders. “If you let me go to Silas, I will agree to a political marriage to Louis.” Eventually, she added in her head. Engagements could be long. Very, very long.

Her mother looked elated, while her father looked concerned.

“Laura, are you sure this is what you want? It’s not a decision to be made lightly.” Her father took her hands. She tried a reassuring smile but didn’t think she was that convincing. 

“Obviously it’s not my first choice, and I barely know Louis, but…if it’s what it takes to go to Silas, and to protect the family, then I will do what I have to do to make that happen.”

Her mother embraced her, looking like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. Laura tried not to feel too bitter that this was pretty much the only way she could make her mother happy. Her father hugged her too, holding on to her for a second longer than necessary. Quietly, out of her mother’s hearing, he whispered “I always want you to do what’s right for you Laura. Remember that.” 

 

And now here she was, getting ready to leave. Laura unlatched the door of the carriage and beheld her traveling companion. Louis.

Her parents had let the Krantzky’s know about Laura’s willingness for the match, and they had jumped at the opportunity to unite the two powerful families. After hashing out the details for a few days, they had left for their estate but left behind Louis to travel with her. The plan was to stop for a few days at the Krantzky estate so she could tour her future home. 

Laura was slightly annoyed at adding yet another delay, but supposed it was fair that she should at least see the place. It still hadn’t quite sunk in that she had basically auctioned her future off in order to work with LaFontaine. Better not to think about that part, she told herself.

Louis was thrilled with the arrangement and had been following her around like a puppy for the last few days. She had eventually resorted to using all her old hiding places to get away from him, but that wasn’t really an option now, with him sitting across from her in the carriage with an eager smile on his face. She felt a twinge of guilt. What she had failed to mention during the negotiations is that her studies would take a long time. A long, long, long time. 

Laura flashed him a quick smile - more of a pained grimace - and settled in to her seat for the long journey. She had to remind herself that this was her fiancé. That was going to take some getting used to.

Wilson Kirsch, one of the Hollis estate’s footmen and their motor carriage driver, checked in on them with a wink. “No funny business back there, Lady L. These wagon walls are thin and Kirsch hears everything.” Laura shook her head. At least he hadn’t used his favorite nickname for her. He had taken to calling her “your hotness” ever since he caught her escaping her lab in a cloud of smoke, sweat dripping down her red face from a particularly quick burning chemistry experiment. He beamed at them and pulled the crank to start up the carriage, smoke billowing from the rear. The carriage rumbled to a start. 

Motorized carriages were a relatively new invention. Laura had of course modified the family one and was enthusiastic about it’s use, but her mother preferred an old fashioned horse drawn carriage. She insisted that a mode of transport that wasn’t breathing couldn’t be trusted. 

As if on cue, her mother appeared at the door of the carriage along with her father. Sherman reached in and clasped her hand, looking at his daughter seriously. “Did you pack all the safety instruments like I told you? There’s a secret compartment right below your seat, and I equipped the doors with locking mechanisms in case of bandits. Or bears. It should be completely bandit and bear proof.”

“Dad, you know I made those locks at your request, of course I know how they work. And I love you too.” Sherman smiled at her and wiped at his eyes. “Be safe sweetheart. Please write and let us know when you make it to the Krantzky’s.” He squeezed her hand one more time and stepped aside for her mother. 

No doubt about it, her mother was a beautiful woman. Her hair was streaked at the temples with gray and she had a few wrinkles around her eyes and in between her brows, but other than that she and Laura could have been sisters with their honey hair and caramel eyes. She cut a commanding figure in her green dress slashed with red accents - the Hollis house colors, naturally. Laura noticed Louis sit up straighter and brush nonexistent dust off his tights. It was a reaction Laura had seen many times before, and she forced herself not to do the same. 

“Do be careful, darling. We love you.” She reached in and stroked Laura’s cheek affectionately. “Louis, take care of our daughter. Although if this contraption breaks down, I imagine she won’t need your help on that front.” Louis looked puzzled and a bit dazed, but he nodded gamely. Laura felt her eyes prickle a bit as affection welled in her chest for her parents. Even with their quirks and her mother’s overbearing nature, she loved them very much. Kirsch put the carriage in gear and it sputtered a bit before roaring to life. 

Laura watched from the window as her parents disappeared in the distance, and then set her eyes on the road ahead. A smile stretched across her face as she considered the future - well, the near future anyway - before her. This was just the beginning of her journey, and it was off to a great start.


	2. The Carriage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla plays a role.

This was not off to a great start, Carmilla thought as she craned her neck around the tree for the thousandth time. She had been waiting in that spot for what felt like hours, and the dress and the corset she was wearing were starting to itch. She adjusted the swathes of fabric and cursed at her situation. She hated when the plan involved her wearing this monstrosity, which it had more often than not lately. She gritted her teeth and waited yet again, leaning against the tree and sighing in annoyance. 

Suddenly, the heard a familiar whistling bird call and stood up quickly, shaking out the pins and needles in her cramped legs. She glanced around the tree and saw the horse drawn carriage coming down the forest path. Damn. Horses were harder to deal with than the new horseless contraptions they had been seeing lately. In her experience, metal didn’t bolt when spooked. 

She adjusted her filthy dress one last time, and starting jogging in place behind the tree. She splashed a little water from her canteen on her face, and glanced around the tree one last time. Show time.

Carmilla ran out from behind the trees, throwing her body in front of the horses. She held up her hands as the horses came near, shouting and gesturing. “Help, please! Stop the carriage, please, you have to help!” The driver on the bench behind the horses looked startled and reigned in the horses. They came to a sudden stop right in front of Carmilla, who collapsed to the ground immediately. She used her body to shield the motion of loosening the throwing knife strapped inside her dress sleeve. 

She heard a commotion from inside the carriage, whoever was inside demanding to know why they had stopped. “There’s a lady in the road, my lord. I..I think she might be hurt.” The driver hopped down from their perch and approached Carmilla hesitantly. 

“Miss, are you all right?” Carmilla’s chest heaved as she looked up at the driver, desperation painted on her face. 

“You have to help me, please, I’ve been running all day, they, they tried to take me but I ran and..” The driver knelt down, surveying the scene. He took in her appearance - a mud stained dress, long dark hair a mess, soiled expensive slippers. 

“Miss, who is they? Are you hurt?” Carmilla pretended to catch her breath a bit and sat up, placing a hand on the driver’s arm. “Please sir, you have to help me. My family was traveling yesterday and we were, we were beset upon by bandits. They…” she scrunched her face up, holding back a sob. “They…killed…our driver and, and I don’t know what happened to my father, and my sister, I just, I ran-” She broke down into sobs, surreptitiously glancing at the driver between her shaking hands.

“What’s the meaning of this? Who are you?” She glanced up and saw the carriage inhabitant had gotten out and was approaching. He was a tall thin man, older, and his commanding tone told her that he was used to getting his way and did not enjoy interruptions. 

She also saw a woman, presumably his wife, leaning out of the cabin door. “Cornelius, what’s going on?” she ventured tremulously before gasping as she saw Carmilla lying on the ground. She immediately stuck her head back inside the carriage and shut the door.

Carmilla pushed herself up with the help of the driver and approached the man, stumbling a little. She looked up at him plaintively and brushed her hair back, letting him see her face. Cornelius’s eyes widen as he takes in her stunning features, even marred as they are by sweat and dirt. 

“My lady,” he says, straightening up and jabbing the ground with his cane, “what is going on? Tell me now.” Carmilla recounts the story she had just relayed to the driver, voice catching. “…and I’ve been running for my life ever since. You are a godsend sir, a godsend, please, just take me to the nearest town so I can find my family..” 

As Carmilla is telling her sob story, she is counting the seconds in her head. Enough time should had passed for…ah. There. She could see over Cornelius’s shoulder that a man in green and black was crouched on the carriage, and that a few more were approaching quietly from the trees. The man on top of the carriage opened the door on top and jumped lightly down, prompting a scream from inside the cabin which was abruptly cut short. Cornelius wheeled around at the sound and started back for the carriage, yelling. 

Carmilla muttered a quick sorry before whipping out her leg and tripping the driver, who went down hard with an “oof”. As Cornelius reached for the door handle, a knife sprung from the door inches from his hand. He reeled back and turned in horror to Carmilla, who already had another knife in hand. She stood up straight and shook her hair back, giving the older man a smirk.

“You have to watch out for bandits, Cornelius. They are everywhere these days.”

Suddenly a man and a women appeared beside Cornelius and swiftly restrained the older man, who was sputtering and yelling before they stuffed a rag in his mouth. She casually turns around to find the driver similarly restrained, the party of bandits now swarming out of the woods like scavengers to a rotting piece of meat. 

One of the thieves, a particularly intense new recruit named Mel, kicked the driver in his side as he tried to squirm away. “Don’t move until I say you can!” Carmilla was not a stranger to occasional fits of violence - clearly - but kicking a man while he was down didn’t sit well with her. She frowned and gazed at her evenly, earning a scowl from Mel.

“What are you looking at, your highness?” 

Carmilla smiled at her tightly, never dropping her gaze. She stepped forward and leaned in close, forcing the other girl back a step. She spoke low. “Nothing much. Just wondering what kind of person keeps kicking when they’ve already won.”

Mel glowered at her. “What do you care, Karnstein? Going soft on us?” Mel held her gaze defiantly and placed her foot on the driver’s hand, bearing down and causing him to yelp in pain. Carmilla smiled without warmth and sidles up to Mel, leaning in close and whispering so only she can hear. “Challenge me again in front of the rest and I will rip your throat out in your sleep. I dare you to test me again.” 

She leaned back slightly and reverted to a normal tone. “Have we come to an understanding?” Mel gave her a hard look but nodded once, spitting in the dirt and sneering at Carmilla.

The new crop of recruits had Carmilla less than impressed. Their lack of discipline mixed with a penchant for brutality were changing the dynamics of the band, and not for the better. But if she was being honest, the band had not been the same one she knew growing up for a while now. The new people were not the problem, but rather a symptom. 

Hastur, her father and the former leader of the band, had been the heart and soul of the group. Under his leadership, they had been prosperous and fair - as fair as a group of people who steal from others can be. He forbade them from targeting anyone less well off than they, and much of the wealth they acquired was used to help the poor in nearby cities and towns. 

After he died last summer in a freak accident, her mother had taken over leadership of the band. She had always been stern and hard on Carmilla, but Hastur’s influence evened her out. He was the only one capable of making her mother smile, and now that he was gone she had retreated more and more into herself, becoming colder and more unfeeling. 

Under her leadership, they had started targeting more and more people that her father would have let pass by - townspeople with not much to give, people obviously down on their luck. Anyone was fair game for her mother, and Carmilla hated those kinds of jobs now. That’s why she was relieved that they had scouted out this rich target. This she could do without hating herself after.

As if summoned by Carmilla’s thoughts, Lilita approached her. She regarded her adoptive daughter coolly, as always. Her icy blue eyes were a shade incapable of warmth. “Cutting it rather close with the timing, as always. What good are you to me if you are trampled, hm? Don’t let it happen again.” Carmilla bristled at her mother’s words, and cursed herself for her reaction. Had she been expecting any different? Expecting any sort of praise from her mother was a lost cause. 

She gritted her teeth and shot back “Sorry to inconvenience you, mother. It worked didn’t it? You got what you wanted. Now let your goon squad handle the rest.” She spared a glance for Mel and saw the other girl grinning nastily at the exchange. She shot a her a glare and then stomped away. She pulled the bulky dress over her head and dropped it down in the dirt, walking away in only her undershirt and tights. That earned her a few stares from the guys, and a few appreciative glances from the women as well. 

Her mother had always been hard on her, but it was almost unbearable now that she blamed Carmilla for Hastur’s death. Carmilla couldn’t exactly fault her for that, either - she blamed herself for his death, too. She closed her eyes as the usual shame washed over her. It was the single greatest regret in her life. 

She was supposed to be out hunting with her father that day, but had instead made an excuse to go visit her most recent conquest of the time - a pretty, if dull, farmer’s daughter. When she got back the next day, still picking straw out of her hair, the camp was in a frenzy. Hastur had failed to return, and her mother was beside herself. After combing the forest for days, they finally found his body broken and bled out from a wound sustained in a hunting accident. 

If she had been there with him, things would have gone differently and he might still be alive today. She had gone into a deep depression for weeks after, only emerging when her brother Will forced her to. She smiled wryly, remembering him coming to her every morning and forcing her out of bed, willing her to eat, cajoling her into activities she used to love like hunting and tracking. He had done this for weeks until she could emerge from her room on her own. 

Now Will was gone, too - he had left in the night for Silas six months ago, claiming that he could no longer stand to be in the band with his father gone. Carmilla had begged him to stay, but he was insistent. He took after their father in that way, with his kind disposition and stubbornness. He had in turn begged Carmilla to leave and come with him. She had considered it, but something forced her to stay. A fear of her mother mixed with a hesitancy to leave the life she knew. Will was the natural born child to Lilita and Hastur, and her mother had always favored the small dark boy. His leaving had enraged her, and was another point of contention between her and Carmilla.

Carmilla sighed in frustration. What had gotten in to her lately? It wasn’t like her to be so maudlin, especially after a successful job. Normally, she would celebrate by bedding the nearest willing parlor maid, but lately she was finding it hard to derive any joy or thrill from what she used to live for. As she walked back to camp, thoughts of her brother and father swirling in her head, she asked herself the same question she had been asking for months. What was she still doing here?


	3. The Hostage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura stumbles on something she shouldn’t, and a gets paid a visit.

What are we still doing here, Laura wondered as she leaned up against the carriage window, bored out of her mind. Patience and idleness had never been her strong suits, and the unending sea of trees was starting to wear on her. The carriage jolted, interrupting the loud snores from her traveling companion and turning them to a series of snorts. 

After a moment of blessed silence, the buzzing started up again, causing Laura to grit her teeth and bang her head slowly against the window. Okay, her present situation was really starting to wear on her. After a few more minutes of the same, she couldn’t take it any more. 

She opened up the inner window to the driver’s seat and poked her head out. “Kirsch, can you stop for a minute? I need to, you know..” He blushed and slowed the carriage to a halt. “No problem Lady L. Do what you need to, um, whatever it is that girls do.” Laura gratefully tore out of the cabin, breathing in the forest air deeply. One more minute and she would might have smothered her fiancé with a decorative pillow.

“Don’t go too far, Lady L. Lord Hollis was very, very clear and descriptive about what they would do to me if something happens to you.” Laura smiled at him embarrassedly and shot him a thumbs up. She wandered in to the edge of the forest, stepping carefully over the foliage in her traveling dress. She of course had wanted to wear trousers, but her mother had nearly fainted at the thought. 

Laura wandered deeper and deeper in to the forest, quickly losing sight of the carriage and the road. She marked trees as she went along and was careful to keep going as straight as possible so as not to get turned around. The forest was fairly densely packed, and getting darker as she went in. It was refreshing.

As Laura finished up and awkwardly got her clothes back in place - thinking all the while about how they should have figured out a better way for girls to do that in the woods by now - she heard a sound far off in the woods. It sounded like…shouting? Laura unconsciously moved further in to the forest, trying to pick up on the sounds. Okay, that was definitely shouting. Was someone crying out for help? The screaming flipped a switch in Laura, and she started tearing through the woods with a singular thought - she had to help. 

A little while later, Laura started seriously regretting her rash decision. She was scratched, bedraggled, and utterly turned around. The sounds had died down a few minutes ago, so she was hoping she would find the source based on what she had last heard. Up ahead, she was relieved to see the edges of the forest lighten up, and what appeared to be a path up ahead. 

That had to be where the sounds had come from, and - yes, there were the voices again! Laura tore out of the woods and approached the horse drawn carriage she could see stopped in the middle of the road up ahead. Aha! Someone’s carriage must be stuck, maybe a wheel broken. This she could help with. Laura cleared her throat and approached the carriage. “Excuse me! Do you need he-”

Her words died quickly as she rounded the corner and saw the scene playing out in front of the carriage. Her eyes flitted over the details - two men and a woman were trussed up on the ground, eyes bulging up at her pleadingly, trying making noises around the rags in their mouths. Around them, several armed men and women were staring at her like she dropped from the sky. 

“And who might we have here?” A striking older woman emerged from the crowd and approached Laura. Her dark hair was streaked with gray, and she had eyes like icy blue chips. Laura backed up slowly, heart racing at the situation she found herself in. 

Her brain was shouting not good, not good, not good as her mouth was rambling something like “Oh-I’m-sorry-you-look-busy-I-was-just-passing-through-I’ll-be-on-my-way-you-all-stay-safe-now-you-never-know-out-in-these-woods-ha ha-I-mean-not-that-there’s-anything-scary-about-the-woods-in-particular-that-way-just-a-general-safety-tip-anyways-I’ll-just-be-going-now-” Laura gulped and trailed off as she was slowly boxed in by the threatening group. She briefly considered making a run for it, but who was she kidding. She wouldn’t make it twenty steps in this dress.

As the group approached, Laura caught the eye of a dark skinned young woman who was puzzling over her intensely with a frown and a furrowed brow. Suddenly, hers eyes widened in recognition. Oh crap. “Holy everliving gods, I recognize her - that’s the Hollis heir! I saw her at their estate when I was passing through!” 

The older woman - someone Laura knew implicitly that she called the shots in this group - glanced sharply at the young woman and then back at Laura. Her blue eyes began to shine and Laura could practically see the calculations running through her head. She had just stumbled upon a fortune - or rather, the fortune had stumbled in to her. 

“Mel darling, are you sure? Why would the Hollis heir be alone in the woods?” Mel looked at Laura closely and nodded. “Positive. She even has the Hollis seal on her belt.” Laura glanced down and cursed her mother’s familial pride. With a pang, she remembered the pouch at her side. She moved as if to hide it, which of course drew the attention of her captors. The woman they called Mel approached and tore the pouch from her belt, to Laura’s dismay. “"No!” She squeaked out, causing Mel to eagerly dump the contents in to her hand.

“Are these…magnets? You're freaking out about a couple of magnets?” Mel looked at her angrily. Clearly she had been expecting some serious jewels. Mel made as if to toss them aside, causing Laura to gasp. Before she could toss them, the older woman held up her hand imperiously. 

“That's enough Melanippe. If these rocks are important to our guest, then we will keep them safe.” She plucked them from Mel’s grasp, earning a glower. She met her gaze coolly until the younger woman looked away. The older woman slipped the pouch in her pocket.

Laura was relieved, but only until she remembered where she was. Adopting an air of nobility, she tried another tack. ”I hope you know you are making a huge mistake. I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement, my family…” Laura trailed off as the blue eyed woman broke out in a wide smile that did not reach her eyes. 

“That’s exactly what I am counting on, my lady. My my, what an eventful day we have had. Fortune is favoring us today, children.” She motioned to someone behind Laura, and the last thing she saw before something dark was pulled over head was a puzzling sight. Was that a women’s dress lying in the middle of the road?

***

Much later, Laura sat in a dirty dimly lit room and contemplated all the ways in which she had royally screwed up. For starters, she had absolutely no idea where she we was. They had kept her blindfold on until she was locked in this room. The only thing she had going for her at the moment is that they probably had to keep her alive and unharmed until they got the ransom from her parents. And they hadn’t thrown her most important work into the woods, although how she would ever get them back from the woman, she had no idea. 

Her parents…they would be beside themselves with worry. She felt a pang of guilt when she thought of what they would do to Kirsch, who had been entrusted with her care. It wasn't his fault that she had a habit of running to the danger. She had once run in to the burning laboratory at her school to save her project. She tried to explain to her parents that it had only been a minor explosion and that her eyebrows would definitely grow back, but they had thrown a fit and whisked her away from that school. 

She couldn’t even imagine what they would do now - all she knew is that she could say goodbye to her chance to study with LaFontaine. She squeezed her eyes shut against the heat of sudden tears, but quickly wiped them away so her captors wouldn’t have the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

In any case, there would be no whisking of any kind in her present situation. She might have considered escape if she had any tools, but they had taken everything that might have been of use to her. Her belt was the first thing to go, and a lock of hair, she assumed to prove her identity to her parents in the ransom. She was glad it was that and not something she was more attached to, like say, a finger. There was nothing she could do now but wait and stew. She tried her best to relax against the hard dirt floor, and after a while, she dozed off, fitfully dreaming of birds with broken wings and wolves with icy blue eyes.

———

She was roused from sleep several hours later when her door creaked open, letting moonlight wash in to the dark room for a moment. A few seconds later, a torch whooshed to life. The keeper of the flame put it in the wall sconce, and the room was illuminated. Laura blinked against the flickering light, letting her eyes adjust. 

She blinked again when she didn't recognize the woman in front of her - she had expected it to be blue eyed scary lady, but this one was new. First of all, she was young - right around Laura’s age, if she had to guess. Long dark hair, pale skin, dark eyes. 

She was also, Laura couldn’t help but notice, one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. The woman approached her with a cup of water. She considered refusing for a moment but then downed the contents greedily when she realized how dry her mouth was. 

The dark haired woman looked her up and down. “I came to check on the famous prisoner. You sure are creating quite the buzz around here, princess.” She cocked a shapely eyebrow at her, eyeing her up and down. Laura cleared her throat and croaked out a response. 

“Princess? Hardly. Although that blue eyed…” she eyed the dark haired girl and changed tactics. “That nice blue eyed woman, she probably wishes that.”

“The Hollis heir is as close as we get around these parts.” She glanced around the cell. “Sorry about your present accommodations. It’s not quite the feather bed I’m sure you are used to. But not to worry, I’m sure mommy and daddy will pay your outrageous ransom soon enough and you can be on your pretty little way.” Laura eyed her wearily from her spot against the wall. She chuckled humorlessly. 

“Believe it or not, being the Hollis heir isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And my family…well, let’s just say you might not get exactly what you’re looking for.” Laura leaned her head back, gently thumping her head against the wall. She sniffed but was determined not to cry. 

To her surprise, the girl hunkered down on the opposite wall and took a seat. Laura gave her a wary look but she was looking off to the side, glancing up at the slatted window and the moonlight leaking through. She really did have a striking profile. Not that Laura noticed. She realized she was staring and shook her head a little to snap out of it. Time and place, Hollis, time and place. 

Laura decided to break the silence. She wasn’t that good at silence. “So, who are you anyway?” 

The mysterious girl turned her gaze at Laura and regarded her evenly. “I’m Carmilla. But you can call me captor. If you’re in to that.” She winked salaciously and grinned at Laura’s obvious discomfort. “Easy cupcake, I’m only kidding. I prefer my women with free hands.” She waggled her fingers slightly at Laura and grinned.

Laura rolled her eyes at the shameless flirtation. Was now really the time? “Yeah well, so do I, normally..” She muttered under her breath. Carmilla must have overheard because her mouth quirked up in one corner. 

“So tell me, Lady Hollis, why does the heir apparent to the richest house in the country waltz up to a stagecoach robbery in progress?” Although Carmilla was relaxed in a nonchalant pose, her bright eyes told Laura that she was burning with curiosity. 

It was a curious situation, that much was true. How even to explain? She didn’t want to let them know about Kirsch if they hadn’t found the carriage yet. Laura was fabricating a story in her head to possibly explain her situation, but then she glanced at Carmilla and sighed. She was an awful liar anyway.

“I was traveling to visit a family friend, and I heard a noise in the woods. So I followed it. And…barged up to a stagecoach robbery in progress.” Carmilla raised her eyebrows at her. A helpless giggle escaped from her mouth at Carmilla’s incredulous expression. “I announced I was there to help, and then I saw the couple tied up in the road and all the knives.” She giggled again, which bubbled up in to a full fledged laughing fit. 

She only laughed harder as she saw Carmilla looking at her quizzically. Carmilla couldn’t help but chuckle along and shake her head at Laura. Laura wiped a tear from her eye and thought, this girl must think I am totally insane. At the moment, she couldn’t help but agree.

Laura she sighed and leaned against the wall, sobering up quickly as her present situation caught up with her. “Sometimes - by which I mean, all the time, I can be a little impetuous. It has not always served me well, clearly.” 

“So you expect me to believe that you heard screaming in the woods, dropped everything and went running to the danger?” Carmilla shook her head. “Somehow, I actually believe you.” She paused for a second. “Who is the family friend?” Laura almost told her, but hesitated at the last second. 

She would be stupid to think that Carmilla’s motives were just to check up on her for her curiosity. Maybe she had been sent to put Laura at ease, butter her up with water and conversation. After all, she was somehow affiliated with a band of thieves.

Laura shrugged and kept her mouth shut. Carmilla smiled lopsidedly. “Ah, now you go quiet on me. Take it for what it’s worth, but I promise I’m not trying to get information out of you. Hell, I’m not even supposed to be in here. Had to bribe the guard a ridiculous amount to even get in.”

Laura glanced at her skeptically. “So then, why are you in here?”

Carmilla shrugged, looking her in the eyes. Their gaze held for a moment. Was Laura imagining things, or did she feel something pass between them? She shivered a little and finally broke her gaze away, waiting on Carmilla’s response. 

“I guess I just was curious about what kind of person you were. What kind of noble lady walks up to a robbery, honestly? I was expecting more waterworks and pleading, to be honest. Not that it would have worked, as you can see, I’m stone cold.” Carmilla winked and Laura couldn’t help but smile back. It was just nice to talk to someone after so long in the dark room by herself. It didn’t hurt that she was extremely pleasant to look at. Again, not helping, Laura thought to herself. “Plus, I know it will piss my mother off, and I’m a coward and this is how I get my digs at her.” 

Laura’s nose wrinkled in confusion. “Your mother is part of a gang of thieves?” Laura flashed back to icy blue eyes and her eyes widened. “Oh no…it’s her, isn’t it? The woman with the blue eyes?” She looked to Carmilla for confirmation and could see in her expression that she was right. “Wow, she is…terrifying. And I thought I had mommy issues.” Carmilla shrugged and looked away, obviously uncomfortable. 

“She’s not my real mother, you know. She adopted me after she married my - my father. But she did help raise me and yes, she can be…intense. She wasn’t always so bad. Not until my father died.” She trailed off and glanced at Laura, looking vaguely embarrassed. “I’m not sure why I’m telling you all this. I’m being a sentimental fool.” 

Laura nodded sympathetically. Wait a minute, why was she sympathizing with her captor? She should be angry, but all she felt was vaguely sad for this lost sounding girl. She could empathize with an intense mother, after all. She hated to see Carmilla look so lost, even only having known her briefly. She leaned forward as if to grab her hand, but then thought better of it and sat back again. After a few beats, Laura spoke up.

“Since we’re apparently sharing things now, how about I tell you something about me in return?” Carmilla perked up from her stupor, eyes unclouding back to the present moment. Laura hesitated a moment before launching in to it. 

“I was traveling with the person I am supposed to marry, but I don’t want to marry him. The truth is that I was only using the engagement to get away from my parents house and closer to my goal.” Carmilla cocked her head slightly to the side, listening intently. “The thing that I want most in the world, my true goal…is to go to Silas and apprentice under a scientist named LaFontaine. Then I want to invent something that’s going to change the world.”

Carmilla looked at her for a few seconds, and then burst out laughing. Laura felt her neck flush with shame and anger rose in her chest. She had just spilled her guts to a stranger and now she was laughing in her face. Great. Laura huffed in the corner until Carmilla got control of herself. 

“No, no, I’m not laughing at you, I’m sorry. It’s just…you are not at all what I expected, princess. Not even a little bit.” Carmilla’s face sobered. “Truly, I’m not laughing at your dreams. I admire them a lot, actually. Reminds me of my little brother, head always in the clouds. He’s in Silas now. You should meet up.” Laura looked incredulously at her and glanced pointedly around at her cell. “That might be difficult considering my present circumstances.” Carmilla looked slightly embarrassed. 

“Oh. I mean after your parents cough up the ransom.”

Laura laughed humorlessly. “I wish it were that easy. Even if - ” She glanced at Carmilla cautiously. “Even when they can pay the ransom, who says your mother will let me go? Maybe she’ll just keep demanding more and more.” Laura looked hopelessly at the floor, head in her hands. Carmilla made a move as if to comfort her, but hesitated. She didn’t want to promise anything when she really didn’t know how her mother would handle this particular situation. 

A couple of bangs on the door signaled an end to their conversation. Carmilla muttered that she was coming and rose to her feet. Laura looked suddenly desperate, and she leaned forward and grabbed Carmilla’s hand.

“Please…come back and see me? Tomorrow?”

Carmilla looked down at the pretty honey haired girl and sighed. She hadn’t planned on making this a repeat visit, but the girl in front of her was proving to be quite intriguing. She found herself agreeing, a bit dazzled by the big brown eyes pleading up at her. 

“Yes Laura. I’ll come and see you tomorrow.”


	4. A Puzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla goes back and sees the captive again. And again.

Carmilla came back and saw Laura the next night, and the night after that as well. The two girls had struck up an easy companionship, despite the circumstances. All things considered, Laura was being treated rather well by her captors. 

They fed her passable food several times a day, and had even allowed her a bucket and cloth to bathe, as well as change of clothes. It was most likely a measure to mitigate retaliation should the Hollis rescue party ever come across their camp in the future.

From what Laura could gather from her conversations with Carmilla, the camp was extremely well hidden and nigh impossible to find unless you knew what to look for. Years of existing off the woods had made everyone in the camp adept at covering their tracks and hiding all signs of life from prying eyes. It was partly the reason the gang had been so successful robbing wealthy travelers for years and years - the authorities could never find them. 

Laura asked Carmilla what they did with the wealth they accumulated - “What can you buy in the middle of the woods?!” - and Carmilla told her that they used most of it to keep their camp stocked up, some was hoarded, the majority for her mother of course, and some was redistributed to local villages. 

She had to admit that that part was less and less of a priority since her father had died. Will had personally seen to it when he was still around, but when he left, the burden fell to Carmilla. She had grudgingly trudged to some local villages after their past few hauls. Laura could imagine her swearing and grumbling all the way to her good deed.

As the nights passed and Carmilla slowly bankrupted herself paying off the guards, a bond began to form between the two women. Carmilla was having a harder time leaving the tiny prisoner each night, making excuses as to why she could stay a little longer. 

Laura, for her part, had nothing else to look forward to all day besides aching boredom, and soon was living for the telltale knock that meant her companion was joining her. After Laura mentioned to Carmilla that she liked puzzles of all kinds, Carmilla snuck in a nifty wooden box with several hidden latches. She was dismayed when Laura figured the puzzle out in a matter of minutes.

“Seriously? That took me two weeks to figure out.” Carmilla snatched it back and Laura grinned at her, delighted to have had her mind occupied for those few minutes. Soon Carmilla was bringing her every manner of puzzle and game she could think of.  
One night, they played cards. Another, she brought Laura a tiny clockwork toy of one of the camp children that had stopped working years ago. 

She watched Laura pore over the machine with the magnifying spectacle she had brought her. She couldn’t help but be captivated by the intensity with which she confronted the problem. She was surprised when Laura grabbed her without looking up and pulled her in close. Her brow furrowed in confusion until Laura, still without looking up, took her hand and placed it on the magnifying glass. “Hold this exactly right here.” 

Carmilla was slightly flustered by their closeness, an unfamiliar feeling to the normally confident and composed girl. But she held up her end of the bargain and held the magnifying glass for Laura, who tucked a strand of honey hair behind her ear and set to work with the small tools Carmilla had brought her on her request. Laura was so involved in her work that Carmilla could tell she didn’t even consider pocketing something to pick the lock. 

Where was there to go, even if she got out? Carmilla felt a strange pang at the thought of Laura being gone. But that was silly, eventually she would be released when the ransom was paid. There were already uneasy mutterings around the camp that she had been there too long, that the Hollis retinue was probably searching for her endlessly through the woods and might eventually stumble upon the camp, well hidden or not. Carmilla found that highly unlikely given the size of the woods, but she had wondered about that herself - why hadn’t they received word from House Hollis?

Laura moved her tiny tools - size appropriate tools, really, Carmilla thought - and smiled when she heard an almost imperceptible click. She sat back and wound the toy up, gratified to see it wobble back and forth as it was intended. Carmilla shook her head in wonder. “I don’t know how you did that, I was sure that thing was toast.” Laura smiled at her and Carmilla felt her traitorous heart hitch. 

“Just needed a little realignment, that’s all. Some gears decided they didn’t want to be together anymore.” Laura stretched her head to the side, exposing the long column of her neck. Carmilla tried not to stare. “Speaking of realignment, I could use some myself. I swear my body is falling apart just sitting here all day gazing at the wall. And there are only so many calisthenics that a girl can do in a day.” 

Laura continued to rub at her stiff muscles, closing her eyes. Her eyes flew open when she felt hands against her neck. “What are you - oh gods that’s good please keep doing that and never stop..” Carmilla was stroking her neck with her deceptively strong hands, kneading deep into her flesh. She moaned and Carmilla shivered. Well, that sound was now seared in to her brain. Carmilla continued her ministrations for a few minutes, easing her hands into the tight muscles of Laura’s shoulders. 

Stop thinking about how soft her skin is, she mentally berated herself.

Laura sighed in deep contentment when Carmilla finally eased her hands off with a twinge of regret at the loss of contact. “Thank you Carm, that was glorious.” She smiled lazily at Carmilla. Carmilla quirked a small smile back. “No problem.” They looked at each other for a minute, the silence suddenly oddly charged. Carmilla couldn’t seem to look away from the captive girl. As the weighty silence stretched longer, she finally broke her gaze away. 

“I should go, it’s getting late.” She glanced back up and saw Laura looked crestfallen. In that moment, she reminded Carmilla of a puppy. “Don’t worry princess, I’ll be back to see you tomorrow.” 

Laura nodded, but her eyes were already growing dim at the prospect of another night alone in this godforsaken room. Carmilla wracked her brain for something to cheer up the forlorn prisoner. “I was thinking maybe that I can bring you another broken toy?” 

Laura smiled weakly and nodded, resuming her gaze at the wall. Carmilla was disquieted to see tears gleaming in her eyes. “Maybe we could take a walk outside tomorrow.” Carmilla had no idea if this was possible, but at that point she would have said anything to make Laura stop looking so forlorn. Laura did brighten at the mention of the outdoors. 

“Really? You mean it?” Carmilla nodded confidently, though she had no idea how she was going to pull that off. Laura gave her a heart stopping smile then and before she knew it, flung herself toward Carmilla and wrapped her arms around her neck. Carmilla stiffened and then melted into the embrace, resting her chin on Laura’s shoulder. 

It felt nice - entirely too nice. Both women became aware of their closeness at the same time, breaking apart and blushing. Carmilla smiled once more and then ducked out the door.

Safely outside and out of sight of the guard, Carmilla leaned heavily against the wall, head in her hands. What did she think she was doing? Of course Laura was depressed, she was a prisoner here. It was stupid to think of her any other way, and to suddenly care so much about her well being. What she was doing was dangerous, and for what? To flirt with the heir and then watch her leave and never return after her family paid the ransom? Carmilla’s mouth twisted unpleasantly at the thought. 

She was still lost in her brooding thoughts, wandering aimlessly through the dark camp when she found herself outside a small cabin with a light flickering inside. The window must have been slightly ajar because she could hear a murmur of voices within. She recalled that this was where Mel and some of her cohorts often gathered. 

She quieted her steps and came closer to the window, suddenly overcome with curiosity. She leaned up against the dark wall, hardly breathing and straining her ears to pick up the low sounds. Years of hunting and scouting practice had made her skilled at picking up slight sounds, and soon she could hear snippets of the hushed conversation. 

****

Later, a dazed Carmilla stumbled back to her small home, tearing inside and breathing hard. She started to grab her overnight pack of provisions, but then forced herself to pause and to breathe. She had to be smart about this, to think. Big emotions lead to big mistakes, Milla. Count your breaths. She could hear her father’s advice knocking around in her head. She closed her eyes and made it to twenty. 

After her breathing was under control, she snapped her eyes open, feeling detached and calm once again. Her mouth set in determination as she started gathering what she would need, slowly this time. If she was doing this, she was going to do it right.


	5. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla break through to new territory.

If I’m going to off myself, I need to do it right, Laura thought as she paced around her cell. Maybe I can run in to the wall at full speed. No, too small. Or climb the wall and then dive straight down. Damn. Smooth walls. Laura yelled out her frustration loudly for the thousandth time, uncaring if her guards just behind the wall could hear. She hoped they could, and were annoyed as she was.

Annoyed was one way to put how she was feeling. Enraged was another. Incensed. And also start to throw in hopeless. Despairing. It felt better to hold on to her anger than to crumble in to tears, so Laura directed her rage at the easiest target at the moment. Carmilla. Laura gritted her teeth and slammed the wall with her hand, envisioning strangling the other girl as she seethed.

It had been three days since Carmilla’s last visit. Three long, torturous, endless days where her only contact with the outside world was a glimpse of a hand shoving her meals under the door two times a day. 

The first night, she had been severely disappointed, but she understood. Carmilla probably had..thief-y things to do at some point. The second night, after an endless day of boredom and nothingness, she waited, and waited, and waited some more. No Carmilla. At this point, she was concerned, and started yelling at the guards for information. 

After several hours, she finally got a grunted back response: “She isn’t coming, so please, for the love of all that’s holy, SHUT THE HELL UP.” 

Laura was disbelieving at first, but the truth of her situation was right in front of her written in the dank walls and dingy floor. Soon the hurt welled up, tears stinging her eyes before she could furiously wipe them away. The hurt instantly turned to hot anger she felt deep in her belly and burning in veins. She had been had. She woke up still seething and comforted herself by thoughts of bodily harm to Carmilla.

She couldn’t believe she had let herself fall for the psychological torture of a clear sociopath. How else to explain how Carmilla could have spent hours and hours talking with Laura and getting to know her, slowly building trust, breaking down Laura’s guard and then vanishing without a trace. She was good. She played back all their conversations, trying to figure out what information she had given up that had finally satisfied the thief. 

She couldn’t think of anything of particular importance, which frustrated her all the more. A flash of Carmilla leaning in close to her while she worked appeared in her mind unbidden, warming her cheeks and making her anger flare once more. She was mad at everything about Carmilla, including the physical affect she still had on her even in her absence. So not fair.

Laura was dozing in the corner much later when the sound of the door opening jolted her upright in her cot. It was pitch black, clearly the dead of night. Her heart started racing, wondering in her sleep induced fog who was coming in her cell in the middle of the night. 

She strained her vision and with all the authority should could muster exclaimed “Who’s there?” in to the dark. Suddenly, hands were on her mouth and she started to struggle, straining against her assailant and trying to scream for help. 

“Laura - Laura, stop struggling, it’s me! It’s Carmilla! I’m going to take my hand off you now - don’t scream.”

Laura’s vision finally adjusted enough to make out a shape against the darkness. Her panic turned to incredulity.

“Carmilla?! What are you doing here in the middle of the night? And why did you just attack me?” Anger bloomed in her stomach. “Can you please explain to me what in the frilly hell is going on? You have about 10 seconds to explain before I start screaming.” 

Carmilla ran a hand through her hair in the darkness. “That would be a distinctly bad idea. I know I haven’t come to see you these past days, but you don’t understand. I’ve been…busy.” She took a step back and sighed. “I thought about telling you what I was planning but I couldn’t figure out a way without rousing suspicion.” 

Carmilla reached out in the darkness and took Laura’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

Laura snatched her hand away. “So you barged in to my cell in the middle of the night and grabbed me to tell me you’re sorry? You have a funny way of showing it!”

“Actually, I barged in to your cell in the middle of the night because we’re leaving. Tonight. I don’t have time to explain other than to say that I’m helping you escape because it’s not safe for either of us here anymore.” 

Laura sat shocked for a moment, rendered momentarily speechless. Carmilla was helping her escape? Her head couldn’t catch up with the words she was saying. “I’m sorry for the fire drill, princess, but we have to leave. Now. I hid supplies out in the woods that we can pick up on our way.”

Laura finally regained enough composure to speak again. “On our way - on our way to where? Where are we going? Why - why are you doing this?”

Carmilla leaned over and pulled Laura up gently. “I’ll explain later but for now - we have to leave. Don’t talk, just follow my lead.” 

Still reeling, Laura dumbly followed Carmilla out of the cell and in to the cool night air. She stopped a moment and reveled in her first breath of fresh air in what felt like forever. Soon Carmilla tugged her hand and they tiptoed through the dark camp, staying in the shadows and making their slow way towards the edge of the woods. 

Most of the camp appeared to be asleep, but Carmilla was taking extra precautions to remain unseen in case anybody was up at this hour. Laura was still confused as to what was happening, but it did feel nice to be out of her cell and moving, although her muscles were protesting loudly from disuse. 

Carmilla kept a firm grip on her hand and led her along, stopping every now and then to peer around a wall before leading her forward. 

Suddenly, a light bloomed ahead of them in a doorway as a clearly intoxicated man staggered from inside a hut. Laura took a sharp breath in in surprise, but Carmilla was already moving them in to the shadows, pressing up against Laura tightly and putting her hand over her mouth. 

Laura’s heart pounded against her chest as the man stumbled by, muttering to himself and careening every few steps. Even in her fright, she couldn’t help but be aware of Carmilla pressed up tight against her, shoving her back against the wall. 

Her heart continued to gallop along even as the man turned a corner and the danger passed. Carmilla held her there for a moment longer and then slowly lowered her hand, gazing at her evenly in the dim light. Laura shivered slightly as Carmilla’s fingers dragged against her lips. She couldn’t blame the cool evening air for that one.

Slowly - tortuously slowly, really - Carmilla extricated herself and took Laura’s hand again, leading her on. Soon enough they were at the edge of the woods. It was extremely dark with only a little moonlight to guide their way, but Carmilla seemed to know where she was going instinctually, weaving through trees with ease and helping Laura follow closely in her footsteps. 

After what felt like hours of trekking in silence deeper and deeper in to the woods, Carmilla finally slowed and stopped at a particularly large tree. She hunkered down in front of it for a moment and then stuck her arm inside a cleverly hidden hole, dragging out two packs with bedrolls. Laura looked impressed.

“Wow, you really did plan this all out. Um…if I haven’t said it yet, thank you. I’m sorry I reacted badly.”

Carmilla ducked her head. “You had no reason to think otherwise. It’s nothing.” Laura started to speak again but Carmilla shushed her gently. 

“We can rest here for a minute, but we have a long way to go tonight.” Laura collapsed gratefully against the tree. Her adrenaline was slowly wearing off and the toll of their midnight trek was starting to wear on her. She took a swig of water from the canteen attached to the pack. 

The whole night had taken on a surreal quality. It was hard to believe that this was all actually happening and not some fever dream. Her instinct was to ask a million questions, but for now it was all she could do to breathe. Soon enough, too soon for Laura’s liking, they were back up, slinging the heavy packs over their shoulders. 

For the next several hours, the two women made their way carefully through the dark woods in silence, stopping occasionally for Laura to rest. It was slow going, and Carmilla was insistent that she follow exactly in her footsteps. It seemed to her that several times they doubled back to where they had been. 

At several points, Carmilla instructed her to tear her shirt and leave traces in certain places. At Laura’s quizzical look, Carmilla quickly explained that she laying false trails to confuse anyone who might try to follow them. Laura was impressed. Carmilla seemed to know exactly what she was doing and had every move all planned out. 

She realized with chagrin that she must have been laying the groundwork and planning for their escape for the past three days while Laura was contemplating her murder. She could barely contemplate anything now, feet numb and dragging against the ground, eyes grainy with exhaustion. The world around her reeled slightly, and she stumbled. Carmilla glanced back at her and then up at the lightening sky.

“We’re almost there Laura, and then we can rest.” Laura nodded numbly and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Finally, blessedly, Carmilla led her to a well hidden makeshift lean-to with some pine needles and supplies already laid out inside. Laura collapsed on the soft needles with a groan and was asleep within seconds.

 

*******

 

The next few days passed much the same. They would sleep a few hours in a hidden spot during the day, and then pick their way carefully through the woods in the evening and through the night. Laura was sure she had never been so exhausted - or grimy- in her life but after a few days, her body was adjusting to her new reality. 

They passed the nights mostly in silence, chatting briefly when they stopped to rest but mostly conserving their energy.

As the days passed with no sign of pursuit, Carmilla announced that she felt more confident that they could start traveling more during the day, and perhaps even start a small fire that evening. Laura relished the prospect of a cooked meal, as they had been subsiding on nothing but jerky, hard rolls and cheese. 

She also relished the chance to sit down and talk to Carmilla about why they were out here in the first place. Their current schedule didn’t allow for much more than a few words exchanged during their stops, and Laura could feel herself bursting with questions.

That evening, they made camp in a small clearing. Carmilla had a small fire crackling in a matter of minutes, and a simple potato stew was soon bubbling over the fire. Laura sat close to the flames, basking in the heat in the chill night air. Carmilla came back from gathering more sticks for the fire and doled out two bowls of stew. 

She hunkered down next to Laura, back against the mossy log Laura was leaning up against. Laura tasted the warm concoction and moaned as the warmth hit her belly.

“I’m not sure if this is the best thing I’ve ever had or it’s just the first hot meal I can remember since I left home. Either way, I’m in heaven.” Carmilla smiled sidelong at her and stirred her soup. They sat in companionable silence for awhile, enjoying the warmth.

When Carmilla set her bowl aside and made to get up, presumably to go to bed, Laura reached out a put a hand on her shoulder. “Um, wait. Since we’re here and all not in imminent danger of death or capture, I was hoping we could…talk.” 

Carmilla looked startled for a moment but then settled back against the log, turning slightly to face Laura. Her body language said relaxed, but her expression seemed fairly guarded. 

“That sounds slightly ominous but okay. Let’s talk.” Carmilla said it half jokingly, but looked serious. Laura gazed at her in the low flickering light, shadows playing across her sharp features. How she could look so drop dead gorgeous after days of travel, she had no idea. Laura was confident that she herself looked like a hermit who had spent the last thirty years in the woods, caked in dirt and covered in leaves. 

She shook herself to snap her out of her daze, looking instead to the flames as she thought of where to start. Much less distracting, these flames.

“Let’s start with, why did you rescue me from your own camp? What could have possibly possessed you to help me and turn your back on everything you know? I just…I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I don’t know why you would do that. You said it wasn’t safe for us, but, what does that mean?”

Carmilla sighed and leaned forward, poking at the flames before turning back towards Laura. After gathering her thoughts for a few moments, she finally spoke. 

“The last night I came to visit you, I overheard something in the camp.”

 

****

 

Carmilla crouched below the window, listening intently to the voices inside. She could make out two or three distinct voices, including Mel. She guessed it was Mel and the two intense looking guys who seemed to be at the top of her cadre of goons.

“…really thought this through, Mel? It’s not so bad here, we could-”

“Shut up, you insufferable dolt,” Mel hissed. “It’s already done. There’s nothing more to discuss.”

“But-”

“I swear if either of you questions me again about it, I’m going to lose it.” 

Carmilla’s curiosity was piqued, so she waited in the darkness for the conversation to start up again. After a long silence, she risked a quick peek in the window and saw the three of them seated at a table, playing some sort of card game. She ducked back down and waited. After an indeterminable amount of time, she heard shuffling inside and glanced back up. 

“Well now that I have most of your money, I’m out of here. Gentlemen.” She saw Mel rise from her chair and leave the other two, pushing out the front door and in to the night. She decided to wait a little longer, hoping that the two left would be emboldened by Mel’s absence. She was right.

“What do you think about Mel’s plan?” The other takes awhile to respond.

“I think we should do what she tells us to do and leave it at that. If she says it’s necessary, then she has good reason to think so.”

“But to murder that rich girl? Is that really necessary? I don’t like it.” Carmilla went cold, reeling in shock. She forces a hand over her mouth so she doesn’t do something stupid like cry out. Breathe Carmilla. Listen.

The other man sounded uncomfortable. “You heard what she said. It’s the only way to take down Lilita and gain control.” Carmilla heard one of them scrape his chair back and get up, pacing back of forth.

“But why not just kill Lilita? It seems so much easier than what Mel is planning. I mean, wait until she’s handed back to her parents? What if something goes wrong? We’re all dead! I’d rather be alive and under Lilita’s rule than dead and not!”

“You think she hasn’t tried that already, you idiot?! Lilita hasn’t got this far in life without being insanely cautious. Mel said that the Hollis heir stumbling in here was the one thing she didn’t plan for, so we have to capitalize on it to bring her down. If the Hollises see their daughter killed right in front of them, they will go crazy, and Lilita is finished. We lay low for awhile and then when all is said and done, we gain control of this region to do whatever we want.”

“I still don’t see why we can’t kill Lilita instead of the Hollis girl. She won’t be expecting it then.”

“And what happens after that? As many of us as there are, Lilita has the loyalty of most of the people in this camp, including her daughter. If she goes down, the suspicion goes on us. We have to let someone else take her out.”

The other man sighed. “I guess so. Just let the record show that I don’t like it.”

Carmilla waited until both men had left the table and shut off the light, and then went running off to her cabin.

 

****

 

Laura sat listening with wide eyes. She felt shaken. It had never occurred to her that she might actually die at the hands of her captors, as bad as her captivity had seemed at the time. But now she knew how close she had been.

“After that, I went back to my place and started gathering supplies. The next day, I told my mother and everyone else that I was going on a hunting trip and would be gone for a few days. So I left, but came back each night to gather supplies and place them where we would need them. I had to be careful not to alert anyone that I knew anything, and that meant not coming to see you either. I had…I knew I had to act and get you out of there.” 

She gazed at Laura, searching her eyes for a moment and then turning back to the fire. She drew her knees up to her chest and crossed her arms, as if embarrassed by the emotion she had just shown. “I didn’t think you deserved to die, that’s all.”

Laura blew out a breath, running her hands through her matted hair. “Wow, um. That is…a lot to take in. Thank you? For saving me. I don’t…I don’t really know what else to say.”

“That has to be a first.” Carmilla smirked slightly at her but then turned her gaze back to the fire, contemplating the flames. Laura sat in silence for a few minutes, but something about what Carmilla said was irking her.

“Carmilla, aren’t you worried about what Mel and the gang will do to your mother? Shouldn’t you have, I don’t know, warned her somehow?”

Carmilla barked out a humorless laugh. “At this point, Lilita deserves whatever she gets from that crew. She knew the risks about bringing people like that into our group. Father would have sent them packing within a day.” She broke a few twigs absently and threw them piece by piece in to the flames. “I don’t care what happens to her anymore. I should have left a long time ago, with Will.”

Laura was taken aback by what Carmilla was saying, and by her bitter tone. “But Carm, she’s your mother..”

Carmilla looked at her with eyes blazing. “What do you know about it? You have no idea what my life is like. You grew up coddled in a mansion with parents who loved you, so I don’t need your judgement. Especially after I saved you and risked everything to do it.”

Laura decided to let the coddled comment go and tried to focus on the bigger issue. “I’m - I’m sorry, that was out of line. You’re right. Thank you for saving me, that’s all I should have said.”

Carmilla’s hackles seemed to go down slightly at that, but she still seemed on edge. “We can travel together as far as Silas. Then you can get back to your family and your fiancé. I’ll find Will and start over.” Carmilla got up and kicked some dirt over the fire, extinguishing the flames. “We start again early tomorrow. Get some rest.”

Laura stayed sitting against the log long after Carmilla had hunkered down in her bedroll to sleep. She was embarrassed to realize that she had barely thought of her family in the past couple of days, and definitely not of Louis at all. She hoped that they weren’t too worried about her, but knowing them she wasn’t hopeful. She wished she had some way to contact them and tell them she was okay.

The thought of going back to her old life was strange, given her new circumstances. She knew that once she went home, her mother and father would never allow her to travel alone again and probably wouldn't let her out of their sight. It was hard to imagine going back to her parents estate and tinkering with her machines for the rest of her life, having experienced the wider world and having been so close to realizing her dream in Silas.

She glanced over at Carmilla’s sleeping form in the darkness. Her feelings for the dark haired woman were confused. On one hand, she was her hero and her rescuer, defying everything to help Laura escape from her certain doom. On the other, she was a prickly thief with questionable morals and a whole lot of emotional baggage. Laura couldn’t imagine how Carmilla would fit in to her life when she went back home, and the thought of not seeing Carmilla after this journey made her feel strangely panicky. Somehow, she would see to it that they remained friends after all of this was said and done. Just friends? Her mind whispered back to her as she thought about Carmilla pressed up against her in the darkness, hand over her mouth. 

Laura groaned and went to set up her bedroll. These thoughts weren’t helping her situation. She was technically engaged, for goddess sake, although she had no idea what recent developments had done to that whole deal. She sighed in the darkness and fell asleep slowly against the hard earth.


	6. The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla stalks her prey.

Carmilla woke up slowly, her old friend the hard earth pressed against her side. As she blinked sleep away, memories of the night before flooded back. She sighed and closed her eyes. She hadn’t meant to get so defensive, but Laura had a way of bringing things out of her that normally she could control.

Carmilla could feel her guard slowly wearing away as she spent each day with Laura, just as it had when she visited her in her cell. Dangerous. 

And, she thought with chagrin as she glanced over at the sleeping girl looking serene in her bedroll, it didn't help that she was damned gorgeous. 

She silently got up amidst the morning mist, gathering her gear. It was time to clear her head.

Sometime later, she stood stock still behind an old ash tree, listening to the leaves rustle. She has spent all morning tracking the animal, working slowly and methodically to keep upwind as her father taught. Her father. She twinged at the thought, and suddenly she was thrust into a memory long forgotten.

"Hush, Carmilla." 

She was crouched with her father behind a floral rose bush. She worked on controlling her breathing as instructed, listening hard for the telltale scuffling sounds of the wild pig. They had been tracking it all morning together, and her nine year old self was getting impatient. Not to mention hungry. 

Her stomach gurgled, and she glanced up at her father guiltily. He crooked a dark eyebrow at her and then grinned. Suddenly, his expression became alert. 

"Almost.." he whispers, glancing through the tangles. "Now!" he commands and they are off running. 

The wild pig squeals in terror, making a run for it. Carm flings her knife down the path, but the pig made a sudden turn and the knife bounces harmlessly off a tree. Hastur immediately dashed to cut off the pig, and a few moments later a shortened cry rings out. Then silence. 

Carm runs to catch up, watching her father wipe his knife against the grass. He glances up at her, expression serious but then eyes crinkling in a gentle smile. 

"Next time, wait for a clear shot. You rushed it, kitty. A good hunter doesn't waste a whole day by getting impatient right when it counts." She frowns and hangs her head in shame. Her father chuckles and and lifts her chin, forcing Carmilla to meet his eyes. 

“You won’t make the same mistake twice, darling.”

***

Carmilla snapped back to reality, awareness back on the hare. She glanced around the tree and saw her quarry sit up and sniff the air. Now. With an expert motion, she leaned around the tree and her knife flies true, striking the hare with a dull thud. 

She sauntered over to her kill and appraised it. Skinny, but it would have to do. It will at least be a nice change from the dried meat and foraged berries they have been subsisting on for the past few days. 

Carm slung the hare over her shoulder and made her way back to their encampment. On her path this morning, she had noticed an enticing looking pool at the base of a small waterfall, and she decided to detour back there to wash her stale clothes.

She wasn't overly worried about losing half a day of travel - it was worth it to build up their food supply a bit since Silas was still several weeks away if they kept up their journey on foot. On foot and away from known paths was the best way to go, much less likely to stumble upon someone who might recognize Laura - or Carmilla for that matter. 

She knew her extracurricular activities had given her a reputation with the local authorities, although the posters hardly did her justice in her opinion. Her planned route also gave her more time with a certain traveling companion, although she told herself that wasn’t part of it. Strictly practical, that was her.

A few miles later, she maneuvered around a thicket of trees and finally came to the clearing with the small pool. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a certain someone in the pool already, running her hands through her hair with her back to Carmilla. 

She could hear Laura hum softly as she sluiced water over her arms and neck, clearly enjoying herself. Carmilla’s face flushed when she spotted Laura’s clothes in a pile on the shoreline, and she hesitated for a moment in indecision. 

Suddenly, a flash of annoyance moves her. There is room enough in the pool for two, and if Laura doesn't like it then little miss heiress can get over it. 

Decision made, she stripped off her sweaty clothes and walked into the pool.

Laura started and turned around, lowering her body and gripping her arms around her nakedness. She looked panicked for a second, and then her eyes alight on Carmilla. 

"Wha -what do you think you're doing?!" she sputtered at Carmilla, a dark blush blooming in her chest and neck. 

Carmilla smirked, enjoying having Laura discomfited for once instead of the other way around. 

Having been so serious on the run for the past few days, and with the danger mostly behind them, she decided in that moment to have a little fun.

"I'm sorry princess, I didn't know you owned this particular pool." Carmilla remarked as she splashed blessedly cool water on her face. "I was out hunting and thought I'd do some cooling off. Apparently you had the same idea." 

Laura sputtered for a moment at Carmilla, who eased toward her through the clear water. "You can't just.." 

"I can't just what?" Carmilla said, leisurely stretching out her aching muscles and drifting towards Laura. She glanced over to the other woman, confused when she is nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly, Laura popped out of the water right in front of her splashed a prodigious amount of water straight in Carmilla’s face. 

Carm sputtered, blinking water out of her eyes. She wiped her face and leveled her gaze at the other woman. 

"Big mistake, cupcake." 

Laura squealed and dove away as Carmilla took off after her. She managed to hook her hand around a slippery ankle and drag Laura down under the shallow pool. Laura gripped her back tight and they both flail underwater, rolling around together until they have to come up for air, gasping and laughing.

Carmilla’s gasping laughter slowly died off as they surfaced in shallower part of the pool, able to stand with the water at chest level. 

All at once, she realizes how close they are standing, completely naked. She is hyper aware of her hands on Laura's naked waist and Laura's hands on her shoulders. 

Their eyes meet and hold, Carmilla unable to bring herself to look away, or to move her hands. Heart racing, she watched water stream off Laura's face, soft brown eyes standing out on pale skin, her normally honey blond hair plastered dark against her head. She noticed the spattering of freckles across the bridge of Laura's straight nose, her dark eyelashes glistening below delicate straight brows. 

She could feel Laura's quickened breath, and couldn’t help but glance down at the her full lips, slightly parted. Under some sort of spell, Carmilla drew Laura in closer, until their bodies are pressed together tightly under water. 

Laura hitched in a breath, and then tilted her head and leaned forward until their lips are only a hairs breadth away. Carmilla closed her eyes.

A cracking sound from the forest rang out over the pool, breaking the spell. Laura gasped and Carmilla swings her around, trying to put her body in between Laura and the source of the sound. 

She skimmed her eyes over the forest and saw sees the culprit - a fat brown squirrel, chittering and rushing off from a broken branch near the edge of the lake. 

She lowered her head and breathed out, trying to dispel the sudden adrenaline surge and...whatever it was before that. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned back to Laura. 

"Go ahead and finish up, I'll start back to camp and start dressing our dinner." she said in flat voice.

"Carm, wait!" Laura calls out, but Carmilla is already halfway up to the shore, quickly throwing her clothes on and grabbing the hare before hurrying back to camp. 

As she moved through the woods in her damp clothes, she tried to wrap her head around what just happened. She is shocked by the sense of loss she felt when she left the pool. 

This was bound to make their journey slightly more uncomfortable.


	7. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura muses on her past

When Laura returned to camp after their close encounter in the pool, she found Carmilla cooking the hare over the fire and not meeting her gaze. She tried to start conversation, awkwardly, but Carmilla didn't give her much to go on with one word answers. 

Laura tried to settle in as best she could, attempting to enjoy her second hot meal since her capture. She huddled close to the flames while the food warmed her belly, but somehow she couldn't shake the feeling of cold.

She must have dozed off at some point, because she woke to the sounds of Carmilla breaking down their meager camp. She stretched, her body aching from the hard packed dirt. She glanced shyly at Carmilla, but she was preoccupied with her task. 

She rose, packed up her bedroll and tried to make herself useful, though compared to Carmilla she felt woefully inept when it came to traveling in the woods. 

While she was no stranger to the outdoors, having played often as a child and young woman in the forest surrounding her home, Carmilla was clearly in her element in the woods. Every movement purposeful, no motion wasted. When she wanted to be, she could be utterly silent moving through the trees. 

Laura felt like an animal dragging a wounded leg in comparison, bumbling through the brush and just asking for some predator to come take her out. She had a fleeting thought of Carmilla as a large black cat, leaping for the kill, and shivered. 

That thought led to a quick flashback of Carmilla’s naked form - her glorious, naked form - moving through the water towards her. And then walking out of said water. She felt her ears grow warm. 

Best not to think about that, since Carmilla had bolted at the first opportunity.

Carmilla turned to her, looking in her general direction but not making eye contact. 

"We lost some time today. If we want to make it to Silas before we die of old age, we will have to increase our pace." Laura flushed at the reminder and nodded. 

"I understand. We go at your pace." She quickly turned away and set about scattering the embers. Carmilla stared at her back for a second, and then moved away.

Over the course of the next couple of days, Laura had plenty of time to think about the confusing feelings she was having over the confusing woman who had set her free. 

As she watched the way Carmilla's body moved easily over a broken tree across their path, she couldn't help but think about the way she had moved in the water, lean muscles contrasted with soft curves moving in remarkable ways. 

Suddenly, Carmilla turned and offered her a hand over the tree. Laura stopped for a second, eyes wide considering her last thoughts, but then took the offered hand. She gave Carmilla a smile of thanks and tried to meet her eyes, but she had already turned back to the path. 

She blew out a breath in frustration and tried to keep up with the quick pace.

Laura had always known that she was drawn to women, starting at an early age with a certain childhood companion. Ah, Elsie. 

She was the daughter of a serving girl at the Hollis estate, and they had practically grown up together. They had spent their younger years exploring the woods together, and many nights staying up late and talking over their hopes and dreams and fears. 

They would declare their love for each other and once, thrillingly, had play acted kissing. "To prepare," as Elsie put it. Nothing made young Laura happier than Elsie, except perhaps solving a particularly difficult puzzle her father built her, or finally making one of her machines work the way she envisioned. 

As they entered their teens, she was devastated when Elsie developed a crush on the local blacksmith’s apprentice and spent all of her time with him. She herself only felt mild indifference towards the boys who chased after her, and she could not understand why Elsie had abandoned her. 

To combat her loneliness, she tried seeing handsome boys her own age. Though it delighted her mother to no end, it was bland at best. A couple of stolen kisses, a hand up the shirt - it never got further than that. 

It was only when she went to continue her engineering studies at a nearby University that she figured out the reason she was so hurt by Elsie's betrayal, and why it never worked out with her various boyfriends. 

Her awakening came in the form of Danny Lawrence, the tall and striking assistant to her machining professor. She was utterly enamored with her the moment she saw the redhead lift her heavy shop mask and wipe sweat from her brow. Laura would find herself making excuses to stay late at the shop when Danny was around, and suddenly needing an explanation for a heating process she had done dozens of times. 

Sometimes she would catch Danny looking at her knowingly, and would have to occupy her hands with some task to keep from blushing furiously. One night, she and Danny were the last two left in the shop. As Laura stumbled through the forest, her mind wandered.

 

***

 

Laura leaned over the work table, concentrating hard on the pieces before her. Her magnifying spectacle mask was pulled down over her face, enabling her to see the tiny details of the intricate clock pieces in front of her. 

She was designing this clock as her term project and had been cursing herself for it ever since. Every night she went home with a splitting headache from looking at tiny gears all day through the glasses. She sighed with relief as she finally connected the two pieces together, soldering them together with an iron. 

As she puts the finishing touches on the delicate metal, she feels a presence behind her. Danny put her hands on the table on either side of her and leaned in close, inspecting her work. 

“Not too bad, Hollis. Not too bad at all.” Laura feels a thrill in her stomach as the tall girl leaned over her. She can almost feel the heat emanating from her skin. 

Speaking of heat, someone must have turned it up because her face felt extra flushed and sweat prickled on her back. She swiveled around in her chair, pulling the spectacles up and blinking up at the red head. She hadn’t moved from her position, long arms on either side of Laura. 

“Oh, thanks, I’ve been working all semester on this damn clock. I may slightly regret taking on something so complicated. I’m pretty sure Theo is working on a stool. But I know I’m good with my hands so I thought I would try something wild.” 

Laura’s eyes widen at her choice of words. “Um, I mean, I like connecting things, with other things, and I like the delicate parts. Okay, that came out wrong. I’m…just going to shut up now.” 

Danny smiled down at her, chuckling a little at the word vomit. She extracted the headpiece from Laura, dropping it on the table behind her with a thud. 

“I think it’s time to take a break.” Laura gulped and stared at the other girl, heart thudding. Danny bit her lip for a moment and then leaned forward, closing the distance between them. Laura is shocked by Danny’s mouth pressed against hers, hard. 

She stiffened for a second or two, but then her eyes fluttered closed and she lost herself in the feel of Danny’s lips on hers. The chair tipped back precariously as the two girls gripped on to each other tightly. 

Laura squeaked and flailed as the chair suddenly gave out, falling backward. Danny managed to catch her before she hit the ground, and pulled her to her feet, laughing. Laura’s face was bright red, but Danny held her close, smoothing the hair back from her face. 

“Falling for me already?” Danny joked, and Laura ducked her head in embarrassment. Danny lifted Laura’s chin and grins. “Kidding. Now, where were we…” she lowered her mouth and captured Laura’s lips again. 

Their kiss deepened, tongues twining together, and quickly turned heated. Laura’s hands roamed boldly over Danny’s body, admiring her lean muscular frame. Soon Laura found herself twining her legs frantically around Danny, trying to find purchase as they moved together. 

She could feel Danny smile against her lips, and she muffled out a moan as other girl’s hands gripped on to her ass firmly. She cried out in surprised delight when Danny lifted her up, eliminating the height difference. She wrapped her legs around Danny’s waist and tangled her hands in her hair, humming with pleasure against her insistent lips. 

Danny stumbled a few steps forward and sat her down on the work table, clearing equipment away with her hand. Laura was about to protest but smiled when she saw Danny carefully place her clock further down the table. 

“Wouldn’t want all that hard work to go to waste. Now, I seem to recall you mentioning that you were good with your hands?” Laura giggled and grabbed Danny by the shirt, pulling her down for another kiss. She no longer regretted her choice of project.

 

***

 

Laura shivered at the memory of that kiss, the smell of oil and metal in the air and the feel of her fingers threading through Danny’s soft locks. Soon they were meeting up late in the shop every night, and doing more than just kissing. 

Her schoolwork suffered that quarter, but she learned so much in those few short months with the older, more experienced girl. But that winter Danny graduated and moved on to take a job in a research facility. They wrote each other letters now and again, but it had never been anything much more than casual and now they were simply long distance friends.

Laura slowly returned to reality and considered the woman ahead. Elsie had been her confusing childhood crush, and Danny her first real lover, with a few flings after that but nothing that panned out. Her work had always come first, and she was at peace with that. 

Until now, it seemed. Laura was unprepared for the strong reaction she was having towards the captivating and capable woman. 

If she was being honest with herself, she felt herself falling for the attractive thief. The very, very attractive thief, she mentally corrected as she took measure of Carmilla's profile against the forest backdrop in the fading daylight. 

Not that it mattered, as she had unequivocally had shut down anything developing between them after their near encounter in the water. 

Laura felt frustrated and unsure, but was determined to follow the other woman's lead. She sighed, picked up her pace and set forth after. A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.


	8. The Cabin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sudden storm brings Carmilla and Laura closer.

Carmilla was so focused on not thinking about Laura that she nearly missed the rumble from afar. At first she thought it might be her stomach growling in frustration, but as she felt the first drop of rain she knew they were in for a long night. 

"Damn," she whispered, and then louder, "Storm's rolling in. Do you hear it? We need to find shelter or we're in for a wet, cold night." 

Laura grimaced and nodded, glancing at the sky. They increased their pace as the first few drops started falling and the sky darkened ominously.

If Carmilla would have been paying more attention to her surroundings, she might have noticed the weather turning earlier and made plans accordingly. Instead, they were most likely going to be stuck out in what was sure to be a nasty storm. 

She cursed and strained her eyes forward, praying to see some sort of rock formation or even a tree hollow for shelter. 

No, she had been too distracted by unwanted thoughts of her companion. All day long she had been plagued by sensory memories of Laura in the water, gentle brown eyes deeper than pools. 

She would shiver at the remembered touch of Laura’s hands on her exposed shoulders, of her lips mere inches away. She pushed the thoughts away- she had to. Didn't she? She barely knew Laura. She was engaged. She was the Hollis heir. There was no future for them that she could imagine, and this was just a temporary arrangement. 

When she had heard what Mel and her goons were planning, something powerful had come over her and she couldn't abide the thought of them hurting Laura. Her hands clenched reflexively at the thought.

There was no sense in needlessly complicating things with the heiress. She had to remind herself that Laura represented everything she stood against, no matter how different she was than the heir to the Hollis estate she might have expected. 

She glanced back at Laura, who looked lost in thought. When she noticed Carmilla's glance she started a bit, and gave her an uncertain smile. Carmilla forced herself to turn away with a sigh. This situation was her own fault. 

She should have never let the other woman get as close to her as she had in the short time they had known each other. Their easy companionship had snuck up on her, easing in to the cracks of her hard exterior and making her vulnerable in a way she had seldom felt before. 

Her distracting beauty did not help the situation either.

"Carmilla, look over there. What's that?" 

She started from her revery and glanced back at Laura, who was squinting in to the distance. She turned back and immediately saw what Laura was pointing at - a small cabin tucked back in the foliage. She was impressed that Laura had spotted it from such a long way off, and embarrassed that she had been so wrapped up in her mind that she missed it. 

The house appeared to be like the ones that her old gang had set up all around the woods, small cabins to stay in when travel was required for one of their jobs. She hesitated at the thought of who she would find, a dangerous stranger or worse - someone she already knew. 

Her hesitation lasted only a moment though, as the first drops of rain turned into a deluge with no warning. She was instantly soaked through, and broke in to a jog. As the rain came down harder, they both ran full pace towards the cabin.

They finally made it under the eaves of the cabin, panting and dripping. Laura banged on the door, but no response came from inside. They waited a beat, and then tried the door. It creaked open, and Carmilla called out and peered inside. After a few moments, they stepped inside. 

It was dark in the one room shack, but it was immediately clear that there was no one else around. The fireplace lay cold, and the interior was completely empty except for a few logs, a table and some straw in the corner. 

Carmilla set to the fire immediately, and Laura opened the shabby curtains to let in the meager light from the gray storm. Water poured against the windows, giving the impression that the shack was a diving bell in the middle of a raging sea. 

Once the fire was crackling, they both sat shivering in their wet clothes, warming their chilled extremities.

"We should get out of our clothes," Laura said, her face reddening after she realized what she had said. Carmilla let out a soft laugh. 

"You first," Carmilla said. "I won't look." She turned and busied herself with laying out her bedroll on the floor in front of the fire, opting for that rather than risking the suspect straw.

Laura was tired from their strenuous day, and she was sick of Carmilla avoiding and ignoring her. She stood still for a moment, and before she knew what she was doing, the words were out of her mouth. 

"What if I want you to?"

Carmilla's whole body went rigid, the electric shock of Laura's words coursing through her veins. She sat back and looked straight ahead into the flames, willing herself to keep some semblance of calm. 

“Laura,” she murmured, closing her eyes for a moment. Why was she resisting this so much? They were both adults. She wanted the heiress, and Laura clearly was interested. What was holding her back? 

The answer was in the unsteady hammering of her heart, and the tightness coiled in her chest. Laura terrified her. 

With one last deep breath, she turned to meet Laura's gaze. Laura's face was flickering in the light, but her eyes were steady and expectant. Carmilla's eyes flicked helplessly up and down her form, settling on her lips. She felt the last of her resistance fall away as Laura bit her lip and scooted closer, reaching for Carmilla's hand but hesitating at the last moment.

Laura let out a shaky breath and an embarrassed smile. "I appear to have run out of courage," she said softly. Carmilla could see Laura's hands were shaking, either from the cold or from nerves. For some reason, seeing Laura visibly nervous calmed Carmilla’s own fears. 

In response, she took Laura’s hand and stroked her thumb gently over her delicate fingers, lifting her hand and gently brushing her lips against her knuckles. She lifted her head and met Laura's gaze for a searching moment. Laura made as if to speak again but before she got the chance, Carmilla leaned over and kissed her.

They stood still for a moment, lips frozen together, and then breathed out in tandem, as if remembering how. 

Carmilla’s heart stuttered and then kicked in to high gear as she leaned a fraction of an inch back, breathing against Laura’s lips. She took Laura’s face in her hands, eyes squeezed shut. She opened her eyes to find Laura gazing at her in wonder. Her cold hands were gripped tight onto Carmilla’s shoulders, hair plastered down but eyes shining bright. 

Carmilla could feel herself shaking, and she wasn’t sure it was from her wet clothes. She leaned her forehead against the other girl, breathing her in for a moment and rubbing her thumbs along her cheeks before pressing her lips to Laura’s once again. 

They kissed each other slowly for minutes or hours, soft sounds mixing with the crackling fire and pouring rain. 

Carmilla slanted her head to the side to find better purchase, deepening the kiss and scraping her fingers through Laura’s damp hair. Laura parted her lips and their tongues lightly touched, making them both moan softly and grip each harder. 

They swayed together, desperately pawing at each other in an open mouthed kiss. Carmilla bit down on Laura’s bottom lip and pulled gently, making the other girl shiver. Laura pressed herself against Carmilla and ran her hands over her body with abandon, both women lost in each other. 

Carmilla gasped as Laura reached up and tighened her hands in her hair, tilting her head back. Her eyes rolled back in pleasure as Laura turned her attention to her exposed neck, leaving open mouthed kisses and nipping at her pulse point. Her pulse pounded in her ears as a dull heat built in her lower abdomen, making her ache for more.

Laura suddenly gripped Carmilla’s shoulders and pushed her back, out of breath and panting. Carmilla reeled from the loss of contact, blood rushing to her head and making her dizzy. 

Laura looked at Carmilla with darkened eyes, shadows flitting over her face from the fire. Carmilla watched in awe as she stood and lifted her damp tunic and over her head, followed quickly by her sheer undergarment. She stood bare chested before Carmilla, skin glistening in the light. Carmilla’s heart stopped at the magnificent sight in front of her. 

Laura was breathtaking.

Carmilla reverently placed her hands on Laura’s leanly muscled stomach, hands splayed out. “You are dangerous,” she breathed out into Laura’s ear. Laura shivered and leaned her head to the side, sighing as Carmilla began to kiss her neck, hands roaming up and down her sides. 

Carmilla felt Laura’s pulse racing under her lips, and she smiled as she dragged her nails up Laura’s sides. She felt Laura’s breath catch as she grazed her thumbs across her breasts. She took the delicate flesh in her hands, lifting and squeezing gently, and then traced soft circles with her fingertips over Laura’s nipples, causing the other girl to gasp in delight. 

Laura twined her hands through Carmilla’s dark locks, grabbing fistfuls of damp hair and holding tight. Carmilla smiled wickedly as she took Laura’s nipples between her fingers, rolling and teasing. Laura whimpered and sagged against her, and then kissed her hard.

Laura extracted her hands from her hair and shoved Carmilla back a step. Carmilla was shocked for a moment but then delighted as Laura looked at her wildly before stepping forward and tugging Carmilla’s blouse over her head. She pawed at the undergarment, trying to get a grip, and Carmilla helped her loosen the fabric and drop it to the floor. 

Laura wasted no time, launching in to a desperate kiss and lowering her hands to Carmilla’s breasts. Carmilla cries out softly as Laura tweaks her nipples, causing a flash of heat and a throbbing ache between her legs.

Surprising Carmilla again, Laura turned her around suddenly and slid her hands up Carmilla’s lean stomach from behind, breathing and nipping at her ear as she gripped her breasts. She teased and twisted at Carmilla’s nipples, causing Carmilla to throw her head back and cry out. 

She put her hands over Laura’s on her own breasts for a moment before she lifted one arm over her head and gripped Laura’s head tight, fingers threading through her hair. She reveled in the feeling of Laura’s hands on her, taking her over. She made a sound deep in her throat as Laura’s hands slid lower, dipping inside the fabric of Carmilla’s tanned leather tights. 

Carmilla helped her undo the belt, and in a flash of inspiration, turned and looped the belt around the back of Laura’s neck, pulling her tight. Laura gasped, hands coming up and resting between them on Carmilla’s heaving chest. Carmilla grinned and tossed the belt to the side. 

She trailed her hands down Laura’s slim waist and dropped to her knees, fire at her back. She kissed along Laura’s hip bones, tracing along the hem of her pants with her fingers and working the damp fabric loose. 

Laura tightened her grip in Carmilla’s hair as Carmilla slid the damp garment down her legs. She kicked them off and then pulled Carmilla up to her feet. She chuckled as Laura struggled mightily with the skin tight wet leather tights - “why are your pants so TIGHT!” - but working together, they soon both stand naked before each other in the firelight. 

They paused a moment and studied each other in the flickering light. Carmilla trailed a hand down Laura’s soft cheek, mesmerized by gold flecked brown eyes under long lashes. Laura places her hands reverently on the panes of Carmilla’s stomach, tracing her thumbs along her delicate rib cage. 

“Carmilla, I…” Laura hesitates and then chuckles. “I’m really, really glad we found this place.”

Carmilla quirks a smile, dragging her thumb softly down Laura’s lips. 

“Me too. But finding this place was all you, sweetheart. I was…preoccupied.”

Camilla leaned in and kissed her once again. The kiss started slow and built quickly as they pressed their bodies together, groaning in appreciation at the feeling of skin on skin contact. They held on to each other tightly, gripping and re gripping as their tongues danced. 

Laura hooked a leg around Carmilla and Carmilla shifted slightly so that her leg was pressed between Laura’s. Laura was grinding slowly against her leg, letting out a low moan that caused Carmilla’s skin to prickle. Their breathing becoming more erratic as they moved together. 

Carmilla backed Laura up to her bedroll with staggering steps, uncoordinated but unwilling to give up any space between them. Somehow, in a falling tangle of limbs and lips, they end up sprawled together on the blanket.

Laura maneuvered on top, straddling Carmilla. She finally broke their kiss with a gasping breath, sitting up and grabbing Carmilla’s hands. She placed them roughly on her breasts and bit her lip. As Carmilla caressed and stroked, she threw her head back with abandon, undulating back and forth. 

Carmilla watched in slack jawed amazement as Laura rode her, body golden in the firelight. She can feel how wet Laura was against her, and she thrilled with desire. She felt the beating pulse in her own sex and knew that she was just as ready.

Suddenly, Carmilla surged forward and pulled Laura down for a searing kiss. She maneuvered one hand in between them, sliding her fingers through Laura for the first time. Laura gasped out a breath at the touch and groaned as Carmilla teased and probed. She lifted her hips to give her better access, matching Carmilla’s rhythm. 

Laura cried out as Carmilla slid a finger inside and began to insistently stroke. The small whimpering noises Laura was making as Carmilla moved inside her was almost enough to undo her. Laura gripped the back of her neck and kissed her raggedly, breathing hard and moving her hips urgently. 

Carmilla sped up her motion and watched in awe as Laura’s whole body tensed, her eyes squeezing shut and mouth open in a silent plea. Finally, she came with a loud cry, shuddering uncontrollably and bucking on top of her. It was easily the most beautiful thing Carmilla had ever seen in her life.

Carmilla smiled as Laura bonelessly slid off of her, sprawling out beside her. She watched as she blinked up at the ceiling and slowly smiled. Carmilla lifted herself on one elbow and traced a pattern lightly on her stomach. She quirked an eyebrow at Laura. “So, was it any good?”

In response, Laura started laughing. “As soon as I remember what my name is, I’ll let you know.” 

She grinned at Carmilla and Carmilla grinned back, feeling inordinately pleased with herself. 

“Now, where were we.”

Carmilla grinned as Laura grabbed her and pulled her on top. Wanting to feel Laura squirm beneath her, she bit her lip and ran her hands through her hair, throwing her head back and stretching out her torso languidly. She peeked down at Laura and was gratified to see her staring up at her with eyes blazing. 

She ran her hands down her front, grazing her own breasts and rocking her hips against Laura. Laura swept her hands all over Carmilla, starting at her thighs and working up. As she ran her fingers delicately over her lips, Carmilla captured one finger and sucked gently, stroking lightly with her tongue. 

Laura squeezed her eyes shut and blew out a shaky breath, her face contorting with each movement of Carmilla’s agile tongue. Carmilla felt Laura rock her hips up beneath her and knew she had succeeded in her mission. 

She was congratulating herself when Laura pitched her forward with deceptively strong arms and wasted no time stroking her tongue against her center. Carmilla cried out in breathless amazement, barely holding herself up with her arms as Laura stroked her slowly and expertly. 

She moaned and writhed more with each movement, the wet heat of Laura’s tongue focusing her mind only on the moment and the release she was building to. Of their own accord, her hands tangled in Laura’s hair and she ground herself against her insistent mouth, feeling the delicious pressure building inside until she was gasping out Laura’s name over and over again like a prayer, voice going higher and higher until she wasn’t able to speak anymore, eyes squeezed shut and holding her body tight as she reached heights she didn’t even know were possible until this moment. 

After a second or an eternity, the wave of pleasure crested and she came with Laura’s name on her lips.

They lay beside each other for awhile, sated and slightly stunned at what had just occurred between them. Laura curled beside Carmilla and rested her head on her chest, arm and leg draped over. She sighed in contentment and soon she was breathing evenly. 

Carmilla laid awake for a little while longer, stroking honey hair and listening to the soft sounds of her breathing. She was sure that this new development would lead no where good, and fast, but in that moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care.


	9. The Inn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla emerge from the woods and into a potentially dangerous situation.

Laura drifted in to consciousness slowly, blinking sleep away as she got her bearings. For a moment, her head was blank, and then memories from the night before came flooding back. Visions of Carmilla arching above her, below her, inside her. 

The memories ignited her all over, and she groaned in appreciation and turned over, hoping to continue their activities this morning. And afternoon. Heck, maybe they should just move in. 

She was disappointed to find that the alluring dark haired thief was not beside her. She glanced around the room, but didn’t see Carmilla anywhere in the small cabin. She felt a moment of trepidation - what if she bolted - but decided to give Carmilla the benefit of the doubt before going in to full blown panic.

When Carmilla entered the doorway with firewood, her eyes registered a brown streak coming at her and then Laura was upon her. The firewood clattered to the floor and Laura held on tight to a shocked Carmilla. 

“I thought for a minute that you left me…again. But you came back.”

Carmilla softened against her and wrapped her arms around Laura, rubbing her back up and down. Laura was embarrassed by how relieved she felt. Carmilla extricated herself gently and held Laura at arm’s length. She looked at her seriously, brushing fallen hair back from her face.

“Laura. I won’t leave you again. Not if I can help it.” 

She breathed out, rubbing her thumbs against Laura’s cheekbones. She shook her head and laughed lightly. 

“The truth is, you’ve got me for as long as you want me, princess.” She shrugged and crooked a half smile. She made as if to say something else but her words were muffled by Laura crushing her mouth in a hard kiss. She pulled at Carmilla’s clothes and they sunk to the floor together. 

They didn’t make it to the bedroll.

****

A few days later, Laura glanced up from the forest path and stopped. Carmilla, holding her hand, glanced back at her imploringly.

“What’s wrong?” 

Laura squinted and concentrated. “Do you hear…music?” 

Carmilla’s eyes widened when she heard the faint notes. “Good catch. Must be an inn up somewhere around here. I thought we might be getting close to a town. We should avoid it.” Carmilla went to pull her ahead but Laura tugged her hand back.

“I was thinking that maybe, if we’re really careful, that we could stop somewhere and get a message to my parents. Just, to let them know I’m okay. And,” she added, pulling Carmilla toward her, “a bed and a warm meal sound heavenly.” 

Carmilla looked dubious. “I don’t know, it sounds risky. What if someone recognizes you? Or worse, me?”

Laura shook her head. “We’ll be careful, cover our faces.” She leaned in closer, whispering conspiratorially and walking her fingers up Carmilla’s front. “Did I mention the part about the bed?”

Carmilla smirked. “You make a convincing argument.” She set off on the path, tugging Laura’s hand along.

A few hours later, Laura and Carmilla walked in to a small village, headed towards the inn. Laura kept her head down and pulled the hood of her cloak closer around her face, glancing surreptitiously around the town. It wasn’t much to look at, just a smattering of houses and shops designed for travelers, centered around an inn.

She thought the hoods were a tad overkill considering there was barely anyone outside, but hey. Carmilla looked good in a hood. She looked good in everything. Or nothing. Laura grinned to herself, enjoying the tactile memories of the past few days.

Carmilla looked slightly strained as they walked through the empty streets, glancing around constantly. Laura reached out and squeezed her hand, earning a quick squeeze back. She had gotten more quiet and stressed the nearer to town they got.

The music got louder as they approached the inn, the bizarrely named Mama Klaus. They entered and were met by a wave of sound and warmth. After weeks in the quiet woods, Laura was slightly stunned.

“That must be Mama Klaus herself,” Carmilla muttered as a tall woman in an apron approached them. “Keep your head down,” she hissed at Laura, who was still gaping at the sudden change in atmosphere. 

Carmilla exchanged a few coins in exchange for a room and a couple of meals. Laura’s mouth watered at the thought of something warm and not..foresty. Heavenly smells were wafting in from the kitchen. 

Carmilla grabbed Laura’s hand and started to lead her to a dark corner of the bustling bar area. Laura followed, semi blinded by her hood. She was fumbling with it when suddenly she lost her grip on Carmilla’s hand as something - a big something - rammed in to her, almost knocking her over.

“S - sorry!” The big something slurred, swaying slightly from side.

Laura finally fumbled her way out of her hood, ready to give a piece of her mind to the drunken idiot who nearly knocked her over. The words died on her lips as she saw who was in front of her.

“Kirsch?!”

Laura watched as Kirsch rubbed his eyes, blinking down at her. Recognition slowly dawned in his bleary eyes. He gaped at her, mouth falling open.

”Holy - it’s, it’s you! LADY L-oomph” Kirsch doubled over as Carmilla drove a quick surreptitious fist into his stomach, silencing the shout bubbling out of him. She looked at Laura with wild eyes, finally snapping her out of her daze.

Laura leapt in to action, capturing Kirsch around the waist as he got his breath back and hustling him in to a corner. She sat him down hard and put either hand on his shoulders, holding him back and staring at him hard as he blinked up at her fierce expression.

“Kirsch. Listen to me. Yes, it’s me. Yes, I’m fine. But if you start yelling, I won’t be. We are in danger - real, real danger,” she said, punctuating each real with a shake. “I know you’re drunk right now but I need you to breathe, relax, and….not freak out. Quietly.”

She glanced over her shoulder at Carmilla standing by, looked slightly shocked and little impressed.

Kirsch let out a heaving breath, shaking his head a few times to clear it.

“O-okay, I hear you Lady L, no outbursts here-mmphhh” Laura slapped her hand over his mouth.

“One other thing? Don’t call me that here. Just for right now, I need you to call me, uh…Lorraine.”

Kirsch looked as lost as ever, but seeing her serious expression, shrank back and nodded against her hand. “Okay. I’m moving my hand now.”

Laura glanced around to see if they had drawn any attention, but luckily the music and murmur or the crowded inn had drowned most of their conversation out. As far as she could tell, no one was looking over at them. She sighed in relief and then glanced at Carmilla, who had on a weirdly pained expression. “Kirsch is - was - our family’s driver. He was driving me when…you know.”

She let her hand away from his mouth slowly. Kirsch let out a high pitched whine as she removed her hand, trying hard to keep it together. “Lad- Lorraine, you…are….alive…and…totally….not captured!”

He sank back and dragged his hands over his sweaty face, looking relieved. “And it’s not my fault! Your parents are going to be sooo happy, let’s go now!” Kirsch made as if to stand up. Laura pushed him back in the chair.

“Oookay there buddy, let’s slow down. You’re in no state to drive, and I’m not going back to my parents yet. We’re on our way to Silas. We’ve come this far and I’m not giving up now. But we’re sending a letter to my parents tomorrow.”

“Laura, wait.” Carmilla sidled up to Laura and put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s think this through. I think you - I think you should go with Kirsch tomorrow. Home. To your parents.” 

Laura was struck speechless for a moment. “Um..how…what-”

Carmilla, looking agitated, went on. “It’s just, it’s getting dangerous and Kirsch is here and he can drive you back. It’s safest for you there. It’s the best thing for you right now, to be with your family, I mean they must be worried sick. You could leave first thing.”

Laura finally regained her powers of speech. “But…what about you? I’m not sure how to explain you to my parents, we’d have to..” Laura trailed off at Carmilla’s expression. “You…wouldn’t come with me, would you.”

Carmilla closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, Laura could see her eyes glistening. 

“Laura, I…there’s no place for me there. Your parents, and your status…you have a life. And a fiancé. The best thing you can do is take this as a sign and go home.”

Laura started at the word fiancé, because honestly she had forgotten about Louis. Then, as what Carmilla was saying dawned on her, anger suffused her face. 

“Who are you to decide what’s best for me?! And now you care about my fiancé? You didn’t seem to care much in the cabin.” Carmilla flinched. 

“Laura..” she reached out to take Laura’s hand but Laura snatched it away. 

“Don’t touch me!” She wheeled on Kirsch. “Kirsch, I’m not going home to my parents with you. In the morning after we send the letter, you’ll take us the rest of the way to Silas. It’s not far from here and I’ll pay you for your troubles. Have a good night.” She turned back to Carmilla. 

“I’m leaving for Silas in the morning. If you can bear to be in the company of an engaged person of my status then come with me. If not, have a nice life.” She stalked away, leaving a blinking Kirsch and a stunned Carmilla. 

Kirsch turned to Carmilla. “Hi! I’m Kirsch. Who are you?”

Carmilla shook her head and turned away, stalking to the bar to order something strong.

****

Laura sat in the small room of the inn a few hours later. After a nice pacing and cursing session followed by a warm bath, she felt slightly less likely to throttle someone. She still had some residual anger but after some thought, she realized that what Carmilla was suggesting was reasonable. 

That didn’t make it hurt any less.

She’s looking for any excuse to leave. 

Laura shook her head. Even after Carmilla has broken her out of her own camp, how close they had become over their journey and everything they had shared, she couldn’t seem to shake the nagging insecurity. 

She doesn’t really want you and your mess.

Laura started when the doorknob to the small room rattled. She went hesitantly to the door and sighed in half relief, half trepidation when she saw Carmilla sagging against the door through the peep hole.

She unlocked the door to let Carmilla in. The dark haired girl stumbled a bit but regained her footing, cheeks red. Laura couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or a few too many drinks.

“I wasn’t sure you would let me in.” 

“There was a second there when I considered it. But, seeing as how you paid for the room…and helped me escape a den of thieves…I reconsidered.” She smiled slightly at Carmilla but then turned away. Guess I’m not quite as over it as I thought.

Carmilla ran a hand through her hair. “Look, Laura, I’m not sure exactly what you want me to say.”

Laura turned back to her. “You could start with, I’m sorry I freaked out and tried to send you home like a child.” She sighed and shook her head. “Listen, I get if you don’t want to- if you want us to, slow down.”

Carmilla shook her head, entering the room and grabbing Laura by the arms. “Cupcake, that’s not it. I’m not trying to send you home, I’m just…shit.” She scrubbed her face with her hands. “I saw driver boy and I got spooked, okay? I realized that ever since the cabin, and maybe before that, I’ve been living in a fantasy world where it was just you and me.”

Laura grabbed her hands. “But Carm, Kirsch being here doesn’t change anything. We stick to our original plan, and go to Silas. Together.”

Carmilla stiffened and turned away. “And what happens when we get there? Laura, we have to wake up. You are the heir to the most powerful house in Styria. I’m, nothing. I have no skills, no connections that make me fit for polite society.” She turned back, eyes downcast and arms crossed. “The truth is that you’re better off without me.”

Laura gently titled Carmilla’s chin up. “Carm. Look at me.” Carmilla flicked her eyes up, brows furrowed. “I understand why you feel like that, and I’m sorry I stomped off earlier. I can be…hasty…with my actions.” She rubbed her hands up and down Carmilla’s arms. 

“The thing is, Carmilla Karnstein, I don’t care about any of that. If being the Hollis heir was my number one priority, I wouldn’t have schemed my way to Silas in the first place and we wouldn’t be here right now. I want to live my own life. And…I want you to be in it. My life, I mean.”

She gazed at Carmilla hard, trying to signal everything she was feeling through her eyes. “I know what we are doing is crazy, and our backgrounds are…unconventional. But I want to see this through, and try…us. We can figure out the details as we go.”

Carmilla was silent for a moment, searching Laura’s gaze. Whatever she was looking for, she seemed to find it. She sighed and nodded slowly. 

“Okay.”

Laura smiled at her encouragingly. “Okay?”

“Yes. Let’s give it a go.”

Laura squealed in excitement and pulled her in for a quick kiss. “Yes! I was thinking about it and I thought we could pay Kirsch to drive us the rest of the way to Silas. It’s quicker, and we could keep a low profile.”

Carmilla shook her head in bemusement. “Slow down, cupcake. I’ll think about it, how’s that.”

Laura beamed. “It’s great.” She leaned in for a kiss. “Really great.” Another. “So, so great.” Laura threw her arms around Carmilla’s shoulders and pulled her in close, capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss. She tasted whisky on her tongue.

Carmilla murmured something against her lips. Laura broke away, slightly out of breath. 

“What was that?”

“I said, you sure like getting your way.” Laura grinned at her, eyes flicking to her swollen red lips. She started when Carmilla suddenly grabbed her and walked her backwards, shoving her to a sitting position on the bed with a thump. 

She quickly straddled Laura, bunching her hair up in her fists and pulling her head back. She leaned in close and bit down on her neck, flicking her tongue out and making Laura gasp. She kissed up to Laura’s ear.

“Tonight, I get mine.” She nipped at Laura’s ear and pushed her back against the bed so she was sprawled out. Hot sensations ripped through her body as Carmilla sucked and licked at her sensitive neck, hands roaming down to pull her shirt from her trousers. She gasped as Carmilla’s hands snaked up and stroked the heated skin of her abdomen, pulling her shirt up and coming to rest on her breasts. 

Carmilla kissed her hard and teased at her nipples, making her instantly ache. She felt the thumping of her pulse between her legs, acutely aware of her sudden need. She pressed her hips up, searching for pressure, anything to relieve her. 

Carmilla grinned against her mouth, pulling back and nipping at her lips. She sat back on her hips and moved against Laura’s center, making Laura groan. She quickly undid the buttons of Laura’s shirt and pushed up her undergarment, freeing her breasts. 

“Gorgeous,” Carmilla murmured as she leaned down and took a nipple in her mouth, sucking hard. Laura cried out and bucked against her, tightening her hands in Carmilla’s dark waves. Her eyes rolled back with pleasure as Carmilla pressed a hand between her legs over her pants. She moved her hips in rhythm with Carmilla’s hand as the other girl switched to her other nipple, stroking the stiff peak with her tongue. 

“Carm, please,” Laura whispered, body thrumming with hot need. “Please-” She gasped as Carmilla snaked her hand down the front of her pants, cupping her and slipping one finger against her. She breathed hard as Carmilla circled a finger around her most sensitive area, gliding smoothly against her wetness as she flicked her tongue against her nipple. Laura threw her head back and gripped Carmilla’s dark curls, head reeling at all the sensations Carmilla was evoking in her. 

Carmilla stilled her hand for a moment and slid up her body, trailing her tongue up Laura’s neck and leaning in for an open mouthed kiss. She tugged at Laura’s waistband.

“These need to go. Now.” Laura canted her hips up and helped Carmilla pull her pants and underwear down her legs. Carmilla flicked the clothing away, and then kneeled in between Laura’s legs at the bed, scooting her hips to the edge. She kissed Laura’s inner thighs, teasing her, while trailing her fingers up her stomach.

“Carm,” Laura whispered, eyes half lidded with pleasure. “Take me.”

Carmilla pressed the flat of her tongue against Laura’s hot center, causing her brain to short circuit. She moaned as Carmilla stroked her again and again, slow and insistent. Her legs began to shake at the onslaught and her muscles started to go weak.

As Carmilla increased pressure with her tongue, she flicked her eyes up to Laura, looking at her intensely. Laura’s breath caught at the sight of Carmilla looking at up at her from in between her legs. She wound one hand through Carmilla’s hair, pressing her lovely face in closer. Carmilla glanced back down and closed her eyes, going to work. She slid her hands up and cupped Laura’s breasts, squeezing her nipples in between her fingers. 

Laura panted as the pressure built and built. Her arms gave out and she laid flat against the bed as Carmilla licked and stroked her. The sensations running through her body were scrambling her thoughts. “Fuck,” she whispered. “Carm, fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck-” Everything in her came to a singular point, and she moaned higher and higher until the pleasure burst inside of her, causing her to cry out and buck wildly. Waves of ecstasy crashed over her.

Carmilla stood and wiped her mouth, smiling down at a shattered Laura, who was panting and staring at the ceiling.

”Um. Wow. Just…yeah.” 

Carmilla chuckled and leaned down on the bed beside Laura. She scooted them up so they were laying on the pillows and snuggled against Laura’s side. Laura basked in the afterglow, smiling dreamily and stroking Carmilla’s back once she regained control of her floppy arm. 

“Carm?” She whispered, after a while. 

“Hmm?”

“You’re really, really good at that.”

Carmilla smiled against her and snuggled in closer.

 

****

Laura and Carmilla woke up in the early hours of the morning wrapped up in each other’s arms. After a playful morning whispering and kissing in bed, they extricated themselves and gathered up their things. Carmilla now agreed that they should have Kirsch drive them to their destination. 

“It’s hard to believe that after all this we’ll be in Silas soon,” Carmilla noted as she dressed. Laura nodded.

“I know. It feels sort of unreal. It’s kind of like, this is our life now and we’ll always be traveling through the woods, tired hungry and dirty.” 

Carmilla smirked and leaned in to kiss her neck. “Dirty for some of the time, yes. But hey, there was that pool that one time.” She smirked harder and Laura feigned outrage.

“There I was having myself a nice cool bath and you just had to barge on in and throw me for a loop with your, with this,” she gestured up and down Carmilla’s body, “with all of this.”

Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “All of this?” 

“As if I wasn’t attracted to you enough before that, my gods. You, naked, pool, equals brain shut down. I’m surprised I could even stay afloat.”

Carmilla grinned and leaned in to kiss her nose. Laura smiled and leaned in to Carmilla as a glowing warmth suffused her body. She shied away from naming the feeling but it bubbled up in her head anyway.

Love. 

“Carmilla, I..” she pulled back and took a breath, glancing up at Carmilla. She stopped when she saw Carmilla’s brow furrowed as she looked out their small window. “”What is it?” 

Carmilla shook her head and turned back to Laura. “It’s nothing, I thought I- but it’s just my overactive imagination. Let’s get out here.”

Laura stepped back and nodded, feeling as if the moment had passed. It was crazy to think that she could be in love with someone she, for the most part, barely knew. But being with Carmilla made her feel things she had never experienced before, and she felt off balance. But not necessarily in a bad way. She resolved then to just see where things went between them and not push labels before she was sure.

She glanced over at Carmilla, who was looking out the window again, her lovely profile in full view awash in the morning sunlight. Laura felt her heart squeeze at the lovely sight. 

Just go with it.

After they were packed, the two women made their way down to the bustling bar area and caught sight of Kirsch squeezed in at a table by himself, looking slightly worse for the wear and scarfing down some breakfast. They ordered breakfast at the bar and joined him at the table, Laura sitting beside him and Carmilla taking her typical spot with her back to the wall. 

“Kirsch, we’ve come to a decision. We want you to drive us to Silas. I’ll send a letter to my parents explaining the whole situation.”

Kirsch looked dumbfounded but nodded. “Okay Lad- I mean, Lorraine, I can do that. But why not just go back to your parents house?”

“The whole reason I left in the first place was to go to Silas. Just because I got, um, waylaid along the way doesn’t change that fact. Oh, by the way, I am curious - what happened to Louis? And how are you still driving the carriage if my parents thought you lost me?”

Kirsch looked chagrined. “Um, well - Louis was kind of freaking out, and we looked in the woods for you forever, but we couldn’t find you, so I drove him to the Krantzky estate. And, and then..” he looked down and put his head in his hands. “I couldn’t face your parents so I kind of wrote them a letter? And since then I’ve been hopping from inn to inn drowning my sorrows?”

Laura winced. “So you kinda stole the carriage and have been on the lam ever since?” 

“That’s pretty much it yes.”

Laura patted his shoulder. “Well, since you found me I bet my parents might go easy on you.”

Laura and Kirsch continued to commiserate, Carmilla suddenly went stiff. Laura noticed and trailed off. She started to turn and look where Carmilla was watching but Carmilla hissed at her.

“Don’t turn around! Act natural but keep your head down. Kirsch, put your arm around her and lean in.” Kirsch looked confused but did as he was told. Laura’s heart was racing as Carmilla scanned the room and cursed. She leaned in close, talking softly quickly. “There are men from my mother’s band in here and I think they recognized me.” She flicked her eyes toward the door and swore. “I think there are more than one, and they’re covering the exit. Shit. Shit.”

Laura’s mind was reeling and fear coursed through her body. She couldn’t be locked up again. She wouldn’t.

Carmilla stopped searching the room and gazed intently at Laura for a moment. Whatever she was thinking, she seemed to find her answer. She spoke softly so only they could here. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Here comes the waitress with our breakfast. We’re going to take it as if we are going back to our rooms to eat. I’m going create a distraction. Kirsch, use the confusion to hustle Laura out. Get the carriage ready and I’ll make a break for it and join you outside.” 

“Carmilla, no! It’s too risky, what if you don’t-” Carmilla grabbed her hand and squeezed hard. 

“Laura, listen to me. It’s the only way. I will make it, I’ve slipped out of worse situations. Professional thief, remember?” She winked at Laura and then stood up, edging around the table and accepting the food proffered by the frazzled looking bar maid. “We’ll take this to our room, thanks.”

Laura’s mind was still reeling in confusion in fear, but she stood up and took the hot bowl of porridge as Carmilla instructed. She glanced around the room but it was crowded and hard to tell who Carmilla was talking about. She tried to keep her head down while also trying to perceive the threat. 

Suddenly, Carmilla yelped and tripped, her bowl of piping hot porridge splattering all over the unfortunate people in her vicinity, who yelled out in protest. She made such a racket that almost everyone in the bar turned toward her.

She stood up angrily and grabbed a large man sitting close by. “You bastard, why did you trip me?!” She practically yelled. “Is this because of what happened last night? Why don’t you get over yourself already!” 

Laura was slightly stunned by the display, but glanced around and could see a few sketchy looking people on the edges of the crowd start to move in closer. Carmilla was drawing a small crowd, which seemed to be her aim.

The bewildered man looked around, and then pointed to himself. Carmilla laughed derisively. “Yes you. Maybe this will help you remember.” And slapped him across the face.

”You crazy bitch!” The red faced man stood up in a huff, scraping his bench back and causing the people around him to flail. As he turned towards her, Carmilla moved into him and grabbed his hands, then flew backwards as if he had pushed, knocking into the table behind her and scattering their food. “Someone help me, he’s out of his mind!”

All hell seemed to break loose after that. The people all around Carmilla stood up, blocking the progress of the men on the edges. Other men started grabbing Carmilla’s target, who protested and starting shoving them away. The small crowd that had gathered around them buzzed.

Laura was so caught up in the moment that she was confused when Kirsch started tugging her away. She then remembered that this was their moment to slip away unnoticed. She ducked her way through, keeping her head down and trying to stay in the shadow of Kirsch’s tall form. Every step away from Carmilla was causing her more and more anxiety. She turned to see Carmilla but couldn’t see around the people now all standing up and milling about.

Kirsch and Laura managed to squeeze their way to the door, but a fierce looking man stood blocking their way. His eyes widened when he saw Laura. He lifted a finger and pointed to her.

“Hey, aren’t you-” Laura didn’t waste any more time, planting a swift but vicious kick in between his legs. He cried out and toppled over. Thank goodness for years of fighting lessons thanks to an overprotective father.

As they made their way through the door, Laura strained her eyes over the crowd, catching sight of Carmilla’s dark hair now in the midst of what was turning in to a full fledged fight. Somehow, the other girl seemed to sense her and met her gaze. Laura saw her trying to slip her way through the crowd.

“Laura, we have to go now!” Kirsch was tugging on her arm, dragging her through the door. Laura tore her gaze away and then started running with Kirsch, trying to remind herself that Carmilla could handle herself. She would make it out, she had to.

Laura and Kirsch arrived at the carriage and Kirsch hurriedly climbed into the driver seat and started up the engine. Laura leaped in to the cabin, holding open the door and scanning the tavern doorway for Carmilla. The carriage jolted to a start, almost knocking her out the open door. 

“C’mon, c’mon,” she murmured worriedly, heart clenched with anxiety.

Finally, Carmilla emerged from the door. She started toward them at a run. 

Relief crashed over Laura. She made it! She yelled encouragement to Carmilla and held the door open wide. Laura kept her gaze trained on the girl, willing her to run faster.

Thunk.

The crossbow bolt took Carmilla in the shoulder, spinning her around and causing her to fall in a heap to the ground. She screamed in agony. 

All the breath left Laura at once, and her world focused to a singular point. Carmilla. Carmilla had just been shot. Vertigo and nausea washed through her, and everything started to spin. Through the revolutions, Laura caught a glimpse of a dark skinned woman stepping around the corner brandishing a crossbow. 

Just as Laura’s wits returned enough to leap her out the door and in to action, a metal gate crashed down in front of her, sealing off the door. Kirsch had thrown the safety mechanism she had designed into place, essentially sealing her in.

She was trapped. And Carmilla was dying in the street. 

Laura’s screams of protest echoed through the town streets and faded as the carriage sped off down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and aren’t too pissed, lol...I’ll try not to leave this a cliffhanger for too long!


	10. Turning Tables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla faces a familiar scene, but on the other side. But at least Laura is safe. Right?

Carmilla almost missed the constant pain. At least it was something to focus on other than pure boredom. 

As far as she could tell, she had been trapped in this cell for something like six weeks, The shoulder wound still hurt like a bitch when she moved her arm too fast, but it had at least healed over enough to stop bleeding through her shirts, and the medic who came to treat her only came every few days as opposed to every day when her wound was fresh.

Oh yes, only the best care for the daughter of a psychotic gang leader, she thought bitterly. No way Lilita was letting her die. Not nearly enough suffering that way.

Carmilla let her eyes wander around her cell, searching for anything to occupy her mind. The first few days she had arrived she’d been in a haze of pain and ether, but when she finally came to she realized it was the same cell they had kept Laura in. 

Laura.

Carmilla squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of the girl who had turned her life upside down and stolen her heart so thoroughly and devastatingly. She wished desperately that Laura would walk through the door to her cell like she had so many months ago, but more than that she wished that she wouldn’t. The last thing she had seen before she blacked out was the safety gate crashing down on the door of the carriage and Laura speeding away. The knowledge that Laura was safe and away from here was the only thing that kept her going through her long, interminable days.

Thoughts of Laura swam in her head near constantly. Laura in the pool, looking at her disbelievingly as she sauntered in to the water. Her looking over her shoulder and smiling shyly at Carmilla in the sunlight streaming through the trees. The deep dark pools of her eyes just before they kissed for the first time. A soft gasp against her ear. A hand through her hair. Fingers intertwining in the dark. The fire of her body. Of her love.

Carmilla brushed away a single tear and sighed. Laura was safe now, that’s all that mattered. She didn’t care about what happened to herself as long as that remained true. 

She just wished the days weren’t so damnedly long.

The door to her cell clanged as someone from the outside pulled the deadbolt. Probably the medic to check on her shoulder. She sat up straighter on her cot and brushed any remaining tears away.

The door opened and her mother appeared in the doorway. 

Carmilla stiffened and tried to hide her shock. She feigned nonchalance in order to cover how rattled the sudden appearance made her.

“Hello, mother.”

Lilita stared at her in silence with cold eyes for a long moment. Then she smiled. Somehow that was worse than the stare down.

“Why hello, daughter. Your shoulder looks like it is healing nicely. Shame that Melanippe had to convince you to come home in such a manner. I told her to be gentle, but, these things happen you know.”

Carmilla shrugged, which she then regretted because it made her shoulder twinge in pain. Okay, no more shrugging. She hid her discomfort, opting instead for a wary stare.

“Yes, your homicidal goon did a great job of convincing me here by shooting me. So lovely to be home, and with such a warm welcome to boot.”

Lilita rolled her eyes. “Dramatic as always, darling. Just like your father.”

Carmilla snorted. “You didn’t mind the dramatics when I was helping you steal wagonloads of gold.”

“Well, dear, that was back when you were of use to me. Now look at you. Wasting away in a cell, and for what? For a snotty little Hollis bitch?” Lilita snorted in derision. “You get seduced by one rich brat and throw away everything you ever had. Your whole life. Your family.”

Carmilla’s hands clenched against her instant hot rage. “And what do you know about family?! You aren’t my mother. You’re nothing. Nothing to me.” Carmilla stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of Lilita, who was regarding her with narrowed eyes. 

“The best thing I ever did was leave this godsforsaken place. Left you. I should have just let your precious Mel carry out her plan and take you out!” Carmilla paused then, breathing hard.

Lilita regarded her coolly. “Again, always with the dramatics. You really should learn to keep your head cool my darling, it hasn’t served you well has it.” She stepped closer to Carmilla, who took a step back reflexively, bumping in to her cot. She leaned in close. “And about Mel ‘taking me out’, as you so eloquently put it? Didn’t you find it rather convenient that they were discussing plans right as you exited your nightly rendezvous with the Hollis girl?”

Carmilla’s blood ran cold. She shook her head in denial. “No, it was- you couldn’t have-”

“There, there, darling, don’t look so put out. It had not escaped my notice that even before the Hollis heir dropped in to our laps, you were not as dedicated to our cause as you once were. After your father died due to your own negligence and then your brother left, I decided you needed a push in the right direction.”

Carmilla’s head was reeling. It had all been a setup? “So, when I left with Laura..”

Lilita pursed her lips. “Not part of the plan. I wanted to see if you would come to me with news of the coup. Instead, you betrayed me and the entire camp by letting a crucial hostage go. You betrayed the only family you have left.” She stepped back and for a moment, the cold mask slipped and she glimpsed Lilita’s deep pain. It twisted her face for a moment, and then the mask was back. Her eyes burned with fury, enough that it took all the air from the room.

“And now you can rot in here for all I care. I hope your precious Hollis girl was worth it.” 

With that, Lilita turned and left the cell without a backwards glance. The solid iron door closed with a clang. 

Carmilla sat on the edge of her cot and wept.

 

****

Days of endless monotony followed, punctuated by food slid under the door, or a rare visit from the camp medic who declared her shoulder injury healing well. She stretched and worked it as best she could, but it was hard to muster up the energy to do anything. Days turned in to weeks.

Hopelessness began to seep in to her consciousness. No one was coming. There was no end to her captivity, Lilita had made that clear. She had to remind herself that this was a good thing. It was what she wanted. Laura was free.

And Carmilla was going mad. 

One day several months in to her captivity, a guard must have taken pity on her because they slid a book under the door along with her lunch. She stumbled over to it like a drowning man searching for air. 

“Thank you,” she managed to wheeze out, her voice husky with disuse. 

She hunched over by the meager light seeping out the window and read until the light was low enough that she couldn’t make out the words anymore. It was nothing but a typical romance novel with an inane plot, but to her it didn’t matter at all. It was her scrap of wood to cling to in an ocean of monotony. The next day, she woke up with renewed energy, knowing that she had something to look forward to. She read all day, sometimes reading aloud to give her vocal chords a stretch.

The book was over before she knew it. When it was done, she started over from the beginning. Again, and then again after that. She took to talking to the characters.

“Laurel, you simpering fluffy shirted fool, stop fleeing across all these moors and get down to business! You know Carmine is the one for you, leave boring old Sir Lawrence already.” 

A week later, another book slid under the door. She thanked the anonymous guard profusely, asking for a name, but none was forthcoming. Just books, one after another.

She lost herself in her stories, and for a fleeting moment it was as if she was free. 

But then she would come back to herself and the reality of her situation would set in. She was a prisoner with a life sentence. 

And so she would read.

 

****

Six months passed, and then another. No visitors other than Lilita that one instance. Carmilla hadn’t seen the outside world in a year, but she had amassed an impressive collection of books thanks to her benefactor. She cycled constantly from romance to philosophy to history and everything else she was given. Philosophy in particular caught her attention and stretched her mind. 

Reading was her saving grace, and thoughts of Laura alternated between sweet escape and torture.

They had only been together a short while, so the same scenes replayed in her head a thousand times. Had it really been worth it, worth this? When the hopelessness crept in, she went through dark cycles of doubt and regret. But again and again she ultimately came to the conclusion that she would have rather known Laura for any amount of time than not known her at all. 

She wondered if Laura thought about her at all, or had moved on with her arranged marriage and with her life. She hoped that wherever she was, Laura was happy and safe.

She closed her eyes and basked in the memory of their first night together like she had a thousand times before.

****

Carmilla was reading a well worn philosophy text on an otherwise unremarkable day when a commotion outside drew her attention. Someone cried out in alarm, and then she could hear the sounds of scuffling and yelling coming from the window to her cell. She hopped up on her cot and strained to see, listening closely. It was clear that something was happening in the camp, but of what nature she could not discern. The sound of unfamiliar men and women yelling and barking orders permeated her cell. Metal clashed and a few gunshots rang out. 

She sat back on her cot with her heart beating fast, waiting for something to happen. It seemed like whatever happened outside, happened fast, and soon the sounds of activity died down. 

There was a shuffling at her cell door, and a thump. Someone was yelling. That voice…she sat up straighter in her cot, hope catching fire in her heart. 

The lock mechanism turned, and bright sunlight streamed in to her room. She put her pale arm over her eyes at the sudden glare.

When her eyes finally adjusted, she saw a silhouette backlit in the doorway, almost glowing. A figure with a leather jerkin, a sword in one hand, and a honey blonde braid thrown over her shoulder.

Laura. 

The sword clanged to the floor as Laura cried out and ran into the cell. “Carmilla, it’s you, it’s really you, I-” 

Carmilla rose to meet her and the two girls embraced, tears streaming down their faces. Carmilla put her forehead against Laura’s and breathed her in, face crumpled against the force of her tears. She stroked her hands up Laura’s neck and cupped her face, sobbing with relief and joy that it was not a dream. She was real.

“You came,” she whispered, voice shaking. “You came back for me.” 

Laura pulled her head back and took Carmilla’s face in her hands, eyes streaming with tears. “I never stopped looking for you for even a minute. Not one second. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long, but you’re safe now. You’re safe.”

Laura kissed her on the forehead and Carmilla sagged against her, no longer able to support her own body. She knew she must look and smell frightful but it didn’t matter, it didn’t matter at all. Laura stroked her hair and held her as they tears cried, joy and relief suffusing their bodies.

Carmilla pulled back slightly, but kept a tight grip on Laura. 

“How?” She managed to rasp out through her tight throat. 

Laura smiled at her and took her hand, motioning with her head out the door. “Come see.” She threw an arm around Carmilla’s shoulders, helping to support her still shaky legs.

Carmilla blinked against the scene greeting her as she exited her cell for the first time in a year. The camp was full of soldiers milling about, with her former gang mostly in handcuffs spread all throughout the tents and living structures. The soldiers, she noticed, were wearing Hollis colors, crimson and gold. 

When she looked to the side, she noticed that her prison guard was unconscious near the door. She was slightly surprised to see who it was, although she had her guesses. She stopped Laura and motioned to him. “That guard, he saved my life by giving me books. His name is JP, go easy on him.” Laura glanced at him and nodded. 

With that out of the way, Carmilla had a thousand questions at once. “How did you find this place again? And how are there soldiers here - your family soldiers - how-”

“I can help explain the how they found you part.” 

Carmilla whirled around at the familiar voice and cried out. 

“Will!” 

She ran the short distance to her younger brother and flung her arms around him, holding him tight. He laughed and patted her back. “Hey, Kitty. I’m glad to see you too.” 

She pulled back and laughed in disbelief. “How are you here?”

He motioned to Laura, who stood back a few feet surveying the reunion with a smile.

“Your girlfriend here is very persistent. She tracked me down in Silas and basically forced me to help her hunt down the campsite.” He half smiled at her and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Although truthfully, when she told me you were in danger I came running. I should have never left in the first place Carmilla, I’m- I’m so sorry.” His downcast eyes glistened with tears.

Carmilla embraced him again. “No. Will, I’m glad you left. You did the right thing. I was the one who should have joined you sooner, after Father. And you’re here now. You came for me.”

He broke away and put his hands on her shoulders. He motioned to Laura again. “She’s the one who organized all of this. I hadn’t exactly made myself easy to find in Silas, but somehow she found me. You got yourself a fierce one.” He winked at her.

Carmilla nodded, gazing at Laura with wonder. She was still in shock from the quick turn of events, but the sight of the beautiful woman in front of her centered her. Laura walked over and took her hand. 

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and something to eat. Then I’ll explain everything.”

Carmilla nodded and held Laura’s arm tight as they walked through the transformed camp. She wanted to look around at the outside world, but couldn’t bring herself to tear her eyes away from Laura’s face for more than a few seconds at a time. 

Laura gazed steadily right back at her.

 

****

Laura explained that she needed to check in on the operation, and dropped Carmilla off for a bath. After months of washing with a rag and a small bin of water, soaking in warm water felt like pure unadulterated heaven. She luxuriated and worked on washing away all the grime she had accumulated over her time in the cell.

After, she felt stronger than she had in months. She was sure the adrenaline of the prison break and seeing Laura again was what was keeping her standing, but she’d take it. She was still extremely weak and needed to take many breaks between every activity, but for the most part she felt like herself again. 

As she made her way back through the disarrayed camp, Carmilla felt slightly overwhelmed at the sight of so many people bustling about. The soldiers had made quick work of rounding everyone up, and were now loading the very disgruntled looking band in to wagons. Carmilla noticed Mel being led to a wagon in chains, and when the other girl caught sight of Carmilla she glared daggers at her. 

Though she looked all around, the one person she did not see being led away in chains was her mother. 

Eventually she found a hastily erected tent, and inside were Laura, Will, and an important looking man in spectacles. His overcoat with the Hollis crest and his warm brown eyes gave him away as Laura’s father, Sherman Hollis.

Laura rushed over to her as soon as she entered and supported her, gripping her tight and squeezing her hand. Carmilla smiled at her in thanks. The walk through the camp had taken a lot out of her. She straightened as Sherman approached her.

“So you must be the famous Carmilla. My daughter thinks quite highly of you, considering she moved all of earth and creation to get you back.” He shook her hand, smiling warmly at her. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Sherman Hollis.”

“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m still processing all of this but, thank you for coming to rescue me.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how in the hell she convinced everyone to do this but, I am very grateful.” She glanced at Laura. “Your daughter is…certainly something.”

“That she is.” Sherman chuckled. “It took some mighty convincing, but eventually she won me over. You may or may not know this about Laura, but when she wants something there’s almost no stopping her. I couldn’t argue with that many charts.”

Laura had a slight blush dusting her cheeks. “When you were captured, I knew I had to find you. I had no idea where the camp was, but I remembered you mentioning your brother in Silas. So, I had Kirsch take me there and I tracked him down.” 

Will snorted. “That’s putting it lightly. She must have visited every seedy tavern in the city asking around for me. Eventually it got back to me, and I agreed to meet her. She was very convincing.” Sherman looked slightly scandalized at the seedy tavern comment, so Laura hastily went on.

“Once I had Will on board, I had us all go back to the estate. My parents were…a little harder to convince. Particularly my mom. But I put together a plan and presented it in such a way that they couldn’t refuse. Along with you, House Hollis would also get the bounties for some of the most wanted criminals in the country. Also I may have mentioned that if we didn’t carry out the mission I would renounce my title and leave.” 

Laura looked slightly chagrined at that last part, but still determined. She looked at Carmilla. ”I would have too. I wasn’t about to give up on you. Not for a second.” 

Carmilla felt tears prick at her eyes. While she had been in her cell imagining what Laura was doing with her freedom, Laura had been fighting for her every step of the way. 

Sherman cleared his throat and waved for Will to join him. “Um, come now Will. Let’s give these girls a moment to catch up. Help me do a tally on the prisoners?” Will nodded and they both left, leaving Laura and Carmilla alone. 

Carmilla suddenly felt shy. “So,” Carmilla said, brushing her hair back behind her ears and gazing at the ground. “You really did all that? For me?” She glanced up to find Laura looking at her with a slightly bemused smile.

“Carm, of course I did.” She moved in closer and took Carmilla’s hands. Carmilla breathed out shakily. 

“But…why?” She shook her head and stepped back. “I’m not worth all this, I’m just, nobody. A criminal. And you’re, you. You’re the heir to the most famous family in the whole country. You’re fearless and smart and beautiful and I don’t…I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve you.” Tears leaked out of her eyes. 

Laura stepped toward her and took Carmilla’s face in her hands. Carmilla closed her eyes. “Carmilla Karnstein. Look at me.” She opened her eyes to find Laura looking at her steadily. She searched her eyes. “You already know why I did this.” Laura took Carmilla’s hand and put it on her chest. “This is why. Carmilla, I love you. I loved you then and I’ve loved you every moment since. I’d turn the world upside down for you. Actually, I kinda already did.” Laura smiled at her and it was like the sun breaking through the clouds. Carmilla felt her broken heart shatter and then reknit into something new. Something whole. She sobbed once, but it certainly wasn’t out of sadness.

“I love you Laura, I love you so much, I-” Laura cut her off with a fierce kiss. Carmilla poured all of her love into the kiss, clutching Laura tightly to her chest. They drank each other in, trying to make up for a year’s worth of lost time. Carmilla felt like if Laura wasn’t holding her down, she’d float off into the sky.

Laura finally broke away, breathing hard. She laid her forehead on Carmilla’s. “Get it now?” she whispered. “Got it,” Carmilla whispered back. Laura looped her arms around her neck and grinned. “Besides, every damsel in distress needs a badass lady knight to rescue them from their locked tower.”

“My hero,” Carmilla whispered in her ear, nipping it slightly. Laura shivered. “Once we are somewhere slightly more sound proof and private than a tent, I want to show you just how thankful I am.” 

Laura drew back and looked at her with wide eyes. “Let’s get out of here then.”

Laura took her hand and walked her through the camp, stopping every so often when Carmilla needed to rest. Although her legs still felt shaky, Laura’s presence bolstered her. She couldn’t stop glancing over at her every so often. Gods, she was so lovely. And here. Just hours ago she had been a prisoner, and now she was free.

Everything felt off kilter and slightly unreal, like she was walking the earth at an angle only she could discern. At moments it felt like she was watching herself experience these things. It was a lot to take in. When she started to feel overwhelmed, she squeezed Laura’s for reassurance and was met with a warm smile. She breathed in deep. Seeing Laura grounded her. 

Whatever happened next, Laura was with her.

Across camp, they met up with Sherman and Will taking stock of prisoners along with a few officers in Hollis colors. Carmilla was impressed on how organized an operation it was so far. As far as she could tell, the raid was a total success. As she glanced through the list of prisoners, she felt a strange mix of emotions. 

Despite the fact that they had let her be imprisoned for over a year and not a one had stood up for her or visited, these were the people she had grown up with. She knew them all quite well. With a few notable exceptions, they weren’t bad people. No more than herself, anyway. That thought struck her. She deserved to be imprisoned just as much as any of them for her past crimes. 

She was uneasily pondering this as she read through the names. Something was nagging at her about the list. Suddenly, it struck her. She flipped through the pages quickly, a pit opening in her stomach. She glanced up.

“Lord Hollis - I don’t see my mother on this list. Please say you have her in custody.” Sherman cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“I’m afraid your mother is still at large, Carmilla. We’ve sent several scouts to try and find her, but-”

Carmilla shook her head. “You’ll never find her in the woods if she doesn’t want to be found.” She cursed quietly. The sense of safety she had felt since Laura’s appearance was shattered. If her mother was still loose, neither of them were safe. “You have no idea what she is capable of.” She sat down and buried her head in her hands. Laura rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

“I assure you, you are perfectly safe under our protection Ms. Karnstein,” said one of the Hollis guards, trying to reassure her. “We have the situation completely under control.”

Carmilla glanced up, anxiety still written on her face. “No, you don’t.”

 

*****

Although Laura insisted they stay the night to let Carmilla rest, Carmilla wouldn’t have it. She could practically feel Lilita out there, waiting, and she needed to get as far from the camp as possible. What she needed were some miles in between her and her place of imprisonment- many, many miles. Even though the voice in the back of her head said that distance wasn’t enough to keep her safe. She shook her head to try and banish the thought. For gods’ sake, her mother was just a person, not some mystical creature with powers. She hoped.

The rest of the day was a flurry of activity. Carmilla wondered how they expected to cart so many prisoners out, but Laura explained that practically a whole fleet of wagons and motor carriages were waiting just a few miles away. They had been instructed to arrive several hours after when the sneak attack was planned, so as not to arouse suspicion beforehand. Carmilla was impressed. How they had carried out an operation like this she would never understand. Scouts were always posted. Unless…she glanced around at the camp again and noticed some details she had missed before. Bottles everywhere, as well as the remnants of a large bonfire.

“Laura, what day is it?”

“It’s the second of May.”

Carmilla laughed. “You planned the attack the morning after Beltane, didn’t you? You knew all of us thieves would be in a drunken stupor.” She shook her head disbelievingly. “Laura Hollis, chess master.” 

Laura blushed and smiled. “I mentioned it and Will told us about how you all celebrated in the past. It was agony waiting for it to come around though, and you wouldn’t believe the coordination and logistics…thank gods for drunken thieves and for Lola Perry, that’s all I have to say.” 

Thank gods for you, Carmilla thought.

After corralling the slightly green looking rope-bound prisoners into a line, they began the trek through the forest to the waiting wagons. It was slow going, but every step beyond the camp was a blessing to Carmilla. After gathering what was left of her meager belongings that she could find, she was more than ready to leave every remnant of her old life behind. She kept a careful watch on the woods around her, looking for any hint of an ambush. She knew it was slightly irrational to be so on edge surrounded by soldiers, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She held on tightly to Laura’s hand as they trudged along. 

An hour or two later, they made it to the line of wagons and motor carriages. Utterly exhausted, Carmilla was happy to sit with Laura, Sherman and Will in the waiting vehicle. Upon seeing her, Kirsch hopped down from his driver’s perch and crushed her in a hug with the enthusiasm of a puppy. She patted his back and tried to breathe. As they finally set off in a cloud of exhaust, Carmilla couldn’t help but lay her head on Laura’s lap and close her eyes. She drifted off to sleep to the gentle caresses of Laura’s fingers through her hair. 

She jolted awake later as the carriage came to a halt, feeling disoriented. By then it was approaching full dark, and the Hollis soldiers got busy setting up a makeshift camp with tents and cook fires in the clearing that they had found suitable. They arranged the carriages in a loose ring around the prisoner wagons, and set guards to keep watch. Carmilla peered out in the darkness, wondering if Lilita was watching back. She shivered and turned back to the fire.

That night, Carmilla curled up against Laura in a small tent they shared out of necessity with Perry. Perry did her best to give them privacy, but it was hard in such a small space. Carmilla sighed against Laura’s warm back, dreaming of a private room and a real bed where they could finally get fully reacquainted. She could tell from the discreet way that Laura pushed back against her and stroked the hands wrapped around her that she wanted the same. For now it was enough to lay close and whisper together in the darkness when they thought Perry was asleep. For the most part they kept their kisses soft and chaste, although sometimes they both stretched the limits of their arrangement by letting their hands wander and gently nipping an ear or sensitive neck. Their nighttime routine left them both desperate and writhing but unable to do much more than exchange a heated glance when nobody was watching or sneak a quick but memorable kiss while stopped for a bathroom break. It was the best kind of torture, and the anticipation of finally being alone soon thrilled them both. 

Several days passed like this as the retinue made its way back to Hollis manor. Even with the motorized carriages, it was slow going because of dirt roads and frequent stops. One day, a wagon broke down with a sputter and would not restart. After letting the head engineer take a look and scratch his head, Laura rolled up her sleeves and pushed him aside. She emerged an hour later covered in grease with the wagon up and running. Perry looked aghast and immediately started to wipe a protesting Laura down with a rag. Carmilla glanced over at Sherman and noticed a distinct look of pride on his face.

As the days passed, Carmilla’s anxiety about Lilita diminished as her strength slowly returned. It seemed a little silly to her now that she was worried about one woman while surrounded by guards at all hours of the day and night. She decided to put her mother out of her mind and focus instead on what came next. She knew they were headed to the Hollis manor first - and the Hollis mother, she reminded herself with some trepidation - but she didn’t know what came after that. 

Laura insisted that their original plan to go to Silas and join LaFontaine was their best option. Carmilla agreed, but secretly wondered if Lord and Lady Hollis would give Laura up again. And even if they did agree to the plan, where did that leave her? Laura had a plan in Silas, but she only had Laura. For the first time, she had to consider what she most wanted to do, without anybody else's expectations. What did she know, beyond parting rich folks with their valuables? It was both frightening and freeing.

Late that evening, Carmilla woke to Laura gently extricating herself from her arms. She protested sleepily and tried to pull Laura back in. Laura chuckled and kissed her cheek. “I love you but my bladder is about to explode,” Laura whispered in her ear. She begrudgingly let her go and then settled down in to a light doze. After a few minutes, she realized that the wine they had drank earlier with the soldiers by the fire had affected her too, and went out to join Laura in the darkness.

She stumbled outside and made her way to the edge of the woods. The night was clear and cool and dark. As she made her way to the ring of vehicles surrounding the camp, a muffled noise drew her attention. She hesitated, peering out in the darkness beyond the wagons. 

“Laura?” She called tentatively. Silence. She walked toward the spot, heart rate increasing. Shouldn’t Laura be coming back by now anyway? She wouldn’t have gone far. She tried to banish the paranoid thoughts from her head and remain calm. It was nothing. It was nothing. 

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a figure coming toward her at the ring of the camp. She jogged toward it. “Thank gods Laura, it’s-” she stopped suddenly when the figure came in to the light of the camp. It wasn’t Laura. It was a soldier, stumbling and holding a bleeding wound, his mouth wrapped in a scarf. He collapsed just inside the quiet camp. She ran over to him, but it was too late. 

Her heart plummeted. She knew that scarf.

Lilita had Laura. She knew it instantly in her bones. She wanted to scream, but didn’t want to alert Lilita in case she was still close. She had to stay calm and keep her head, to think. She squeezed her eyes shut and counted down from ten. 

One. She opened her eyes, and started to move. 

She moved through the camp quietly, waking Will first. She quickly updated him on the situation. His eyes widened but he nodded, believing her quickly. She knew he was the only one who would understand what they were facing right away. She considered waking Sherman, but didn’t trust him not to panic and raise hell when he realized Laura was missing. 

Carmilla knew her only shot to get to Lilita and Laura before they slipped away was to catch her unawares under the cover of darkness. Exactly how Lilita had got to Laura in the first place, she did not know. Carmilla seethed when she realized Lilita must have been following close behind every step of the way, casing their camp and avoiding the scouts. She should have trusted her instincts and warned everyone more.

It was her fault Laura got taken again. It was on her now to get her back. 

She and Will moved quietly through the camp, exiting in the same spot the night watchman had fallen. Will’s face hardened when he saw the body slumped over, bleeding in to the dirt. They glanced at each other, seeing resolve mirrored back.

Beyond the lanterns and torches of the camp, they were swallowed by the darkness of the woods. Carmilla breathed in the familiar scent and closed her eyes, letting her instincts take over. If she were Lilita, where would she go?

By the small light of her hooded lantern, she scoured the forest for clues. She and Will searched in silence for a few minutes. If she were tracking just Lilita, she would have despaired of her chances. Lilita was virtually untraceable in the woods when she wanted to be. But with Laura as her prisoner, it was another story entirely. Lilita probably thought she had a few hours at least to come back and cover their tracks before the camp realized that Laura was gone. 

Her lantern swept the ground. Was that…she peered closer. Yes! Half a footprint, and fresh. Hope suffused her chest. She motioned Will over and together, they started to piece the scene together. The footprint led to a drag mark along the leaves, led to a dropped oil stained handkerchief that Carmilla immediately recognized as Laura’s. It gave her hope that Laura had enough wherewithal to leave a trail in the way that she had taught her.

She stroked Laura’s cheek absently as they lay together in the bedroll. “If someone takes you in the woods again, leave traces for someone to find you. Break twigs, drop your jewelry, anything.” 

Laura smiled mischievously and leaned closer. “The only one I want to take me in the woods again is you.”

It was difficult and slow going in the dark, but they were both experienced trackers and had no trouble following the trail once they were on the right track. They worked together in silence, keeping their lights low and working as quickly as possible. Long minutes turned to hours. 

Just as the black of night was starting to break and the world was lightening up incrementally, Carmilla and Will both stopped dead when they heard a muffled noise in the distance. They glanced at each other briefly and sped up.

When they reached the source of the noise, confusion filled Carmilla’s mind. Another Hollis sentry lay dead in front of them, bleeding from the throat. A sentry? But that meant…realization dawned on her as she glanced up at the position of the rising sun. She had been so caught up in the chase that she didn’t even realize that Lilita’s trail led in a huge circle, right back to where she started.

The camp.

Once she realized that was Lilita’s plan all along, it made a certain kind of sense. Lead them all on a wild goose chase while circling back to the camp, and play off the chaos while being in the last place they would expect her. It was devious and calculated, and therefore so very Lilita.

As this was occurring to her, Carmilla then heard the faint sounds of alarm from the nearby camp. Damn! They must have found the soldier. By now they must have realized that Laura was missing, and it was sure to be chaotic. Carmilla was sure that Lilita was now laying in wait for her moment, if it hadn’t happened already.

She flexed her fists at her sides. Screw that moment. She was making sure it didn’t happen.

She and Will crept closer to the camp, making sure to keep obscured. The last thing they needed was for a soldier to spot them. Carmilla knew they would only get one chance to take her down before she carried out her plan, and alerting the camp might scare her off before that happened. She needed Lilita to lead them to Laura.

It was clear even from afar that the camp bustled with confusion. Shouts rang out from the men, and horses whinnied in agitation. Carmilla wanted to scream and warn them that they were falling for Lilita’s trick, but she didn’t dare. She crouched near the end of the tree line with Will, scanning for movement. 

They lay in wait for a few tense minutes, crouched and ready to spring in to action. They happened to be facing the edge of camp where Laura’s motor carriage was parked, which is how Carmilla spotted it when it happened.

She gasped and grabbed Will’s arm, pointing to the carriage. “Look!” She hissed.

They both watched from a distance as Lilita pulled herself out from underneath the motor carriage. She had somehow secured a Hollis soldier uniform. It was a weak camouflage, but in the confusion, no one passing would spare her a second glance. 

Carmilla waited, heart beating rapidly and body tense as a bowstring. Where was Laura? Was she also underneath the carriage? She waited for Lilita to make a move, but it seemed like she was waiting as well. For what?

Just as Carmilla decided to spring in to action, Lilita glanced at the sky and put her fingers to her lips, letting out a piercing staccato whistle. Carmilla paused, furrowing her brow in confusion. Her mother was doing the sparrow hawk call, a well known signal among their camp.

It meant attack. 

Whatever that meant, Carmilla wasn’t waiting anymore. She eased a throwing knife into her hand and tapped on Will’s shoulder. They both rose up, and started sprinting a mad dash across the clearing to the camp. 

They were about halfway home when all hell broke loose. 

Seemingly out of thin air, screaming bandits swarmed all over the camp. Carmilla skidded to a halt and watched in horror as they attacked the Hollis soldiers, overwhelming and disarming them. They scattered cook fires and upended tents, sewing confusion and disarray wherever they went. Mingling with their wild yells, loud cracks and bangs rang out in the early dawn light and the air filled with smoke as the bandits set off fire sticks. It was pure chaos, and the already fractured Hollis camp didn’t stand a chance. 

This was it - the diversion that Lilita was waiting on. 

Carmilla started sprinting again, grateful at least that the craziness in the camp covered her approach well. Will was right behind her. She was about ten meters away when she saw Lilita reach for the door to the carriage. 

No!

Without hesitation, Carmilla whipped her throwing knife out of her hand. Even at a dead run, she trusted her abilities and knew her aim was true. The knife whirled end over end and hit the target with a sick thunk.

Lilita shrieked in agony as the knife pierced the palm of her reaching hand and trapped her against the door. She whipped her head around, eyes wild with pain and fury. 

“YOU!” She shrieked at Carmilla. “YOU STUPID SWINE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” She gripped on to the knife and let out an unearthly howl, a string of vile curses rolling off her tongue. Carmilla and Will approached her warily. 

“Where’s Laura!” Carmilla angrily yelled at her mother. “Mother, I’ll release when you tell me where she is.”

Lilita panted, sweat pouring off her white face. Her hand was bleeding quite badly, soaking her arm and dripping off the door. She dropped her head, appearing to calculate her options. Finally, she lifted her eyes and gave Carmilla a blood curdling stare.

“Alright, dear daughter,” she choked out through gritted teeth. “I’ll tell you where that little bitch is as soon as you remove this gods forsaken knife.” 

Carmilla hesitated a moment and then motioned to Will to hold Lilita steady. 

“This might sting a bit.” She gripped the knife handle and pulled as hard as she could. Lilita howled and clutched her injured hand to her chest as soon as it was free, falling to her knees. Carmilla hunkered down next to her and grabbed her chin.

“Where is she.” Lilita’s chin trembled in her hand, but she couldn’t muster up any feelings of sympathy. “Tell me right now.”

“She’s…” Lilita panted. She muttered something incoherent. Carmilla leaned in closer, grabbing her by her tunic front and shaking.

“I can’t hear you, speak up!” Lilita started shaking. “She’s right - she’s right over-”

A whir of movement and dull thud, and Will collapsed as he was knocked out cold by a solid length of wood wielded by a bandit. Before she could even react, Carmilla felt a sharp point between her shoulders.

“She’s right at the corner of dream on and nice try, bitch.” A familiar if very unwanted voice. Carmilla’s hand creeped toward the knife on her belt but felt the point dig in harder. “Don’t even think about it.” Carmilla glanced over her shoulder at the soot stained face of Mel, who must have got a hold of a sword from one of the Hollis soldiers.

“About time you showed up,” Lilita hissed. “I could have used your help before my hand was skewered.”

Mel flashed her a disbelieving face. “Sorry chief, we were a little busy taking over the armed encampment. I’m sorry our timeline was not to your liking.”

“Just get me out of this wretched place.” 

“And what would you have me do with your precious daughter?” Lilita gave Carmilla a stony glance. 

“While I am feeling particularly filicidal toward this insolent little tart, there are some promises that you simply cannot break. Have your men restrain her and then she can rot for all I care.” She spat and turned away.

Mel motioned to one of her goons, who grabbed Carmilla’s wrists and held her to his massive chest. She fought his grip but she might as well have been fighting against iron manacles. She was trapped, and they were leaving. 

“No!” She cried out ineffectually. “NO! NO!” She watched in tearful frustration as they opened the door of the carriage and Lilita climbed in. Before she closed the door, Carmilla saw a flash of familiar honey colored hair.

Laura, bound and gagged, lying with her eyes closed on the bench of the carriage. Laura had been ten feet away from her this whole time. 

The door slammed, and her love was beyond her reach. Again. 

She cried out as Mel took her place in the driver’s box and cranked up the engine. The carriage sputtered to a start, and then slowly turned and started to pick up speed, heading for the main road. Carmilla watched the carriage move, tracing the path until it disappeared into the trees.

She hung her head and sobbed. All was lost. 

At least, that’s what she thought until Sherman Hollis and a ragtag group of soldiers came bursting through the woods towards the camp, yelling and brandishing their weapons.

The goon holding Carmilla swore and then let go, running off to find cover from the horde. 

The soldiers ran into the camp to chase the bandits, but Sherman came to a stop by Carmilla.

“Carmilla!” He put his hands on her shoulders, checking her up and down. “Are you hurt? We were searching for you and Laura and came running when we heard the ruckus.” Carmilla was dazed, but at the mention of Laura she came to.

“Sherman, I’m fine, Lilita has Laura, they just took off in the carriage heading north - check on Will and send men to follow me, now!” With that she took off at a sprint, heading for the nearest horse she could find. Sherman called after her but she ignored him. The bandits had cut them loose, but a few still milled around the camp. She approached a skittish looking brown mare with her reigns tangled, freeing her quickly and hopping on. She kicked her into a gallop, passing Sherman waving his arms and motioning for her to stop. 

“Send soldiers after me!” she yelled as she rushed by. Then she was off.

She led the horse at a breakneck pace along the path and through the woods. She realized absently that she hadn’t even bothered to gather a weapon, and both her mother and Mel were armed. But that was a problem for future Carmilla to consider. Right now she only had one goal in mind: catch up to the motor carriage. All the rest she’d figure out along the way.

Carmilla rode the horse hard along the path for an indeterminable amount of time before the carriage finally appeared ahead of her in the distance. 

Laura.

She leaned over the back of the speeding horse and urged the mare even faster. When this was all over she was getting a nice pasture and all the hay her heart desired. 

Now that the carriage was almost in reach, she had to confront her biggest problem: how to get a speeding metal machine to stop with no weapons and on horseback. She doubted her regular damsel in distress act would work this time - the real distress would come when Mel would happily swerve to run her over. 

But it turned out that Carmilla didn’t need to stop the carriage. Because in the next moment, the sound of shrieking metal rang out and the back of the carriage detached. Carmilla sucked in a breath and barely had time to swerve out of the way as the bulk of the carriage skidded by her on, tumbling end over end and missing her by a hair. She pulled up on the reins and her heart jammed back to life in her chest. 

Her mind was still catching up to what just happened but one thought made it’s way to the forefront. The cabin that had just tumbled by? Laura was in it.

Carmilla cried out and dismounted, sprinting to where the ruins of the carriage lay at rest against a tree. The metal was twisted and smoking. As luck would have it, the door was the right side up, if listing to one side heavily and the door and frame were in bad shape. Carmilla’s heart pounded in her throat as she leaned against the door, prying it slowly open in the twisted frame. She gritted her teeth as she struggled with the twisted door, hoping her adrenaline would lend her the strength she desperately needed.

With a final crack, the door detached from the frame and Carmilla leapt into the cabin.

Inside, her mother was sprawled out on the floor and Laura was hanging limp from a seat harness.

She cried out and went immediately to Laura’s side. She was still bound at the feet and gagged, but her hands were free. She had a nasty looking bruise on her forehead but otherwise, looked mostly unharmed. She spared a glance for her mother and noticed she looked in much worse shape.

She checked Laura’s pulse frantically. For a few tense moments, she couldn’t feel anything other than her own speeding pulse.

But then, a faint beat. Immense relief washed over her, but she knew Laura wasn’t out of danger yet. With a crash like that, Laura could have massive internal injuries.

”Laura,” she whispered, tears streaking down her face. “Laura, wake up. I’m here now. Wake up.” She kissed her forehead gently and stroked her face, pleading with any gods who would listen.

”Wake up, cupcake. I just got you back and I am not losing you again, you hear me?” Carmilla shook her shoulders. “Laura, wake up!”

Laura let out a soft groan, and her eyes fluttered open. Carmilla sobbed out her joy and relief, tears streaming down her face. Laura blinked her eyes into focus, and then her gaze landed on Carmilla.

“Hey,” she croaked out with a soft smile. “Nice of you to join us.” Carmilla chuckled through her tears. 

“Well you didn’t exactly make it easy for me, now did you, what with getting captured by my evil mother. I’ve been all over hell and creation trying to get you back, when it turns out you were in the damn car the whole time.”

Laura tried to shrug and then winced in pain. “Okay, ow. Turns out my ingenious gas bag idea didn’t work out quite as well as I had imagined.” Carmilla puzzled over the statement and wondered if Laura’s head injury was worse than she thought. But as she glanced around the cabin, suddenly her confusing words made sense. Strangely enough, inflated leather bags covered most of the walls. She realized that when they had tumbled over the road, the bags would have protected them from bashing against metal walls.

“How did you- what in the-” Carmilla murmured in awe. Laura smiled. 

“Sherman is serious about his safety features. Once I told him the details of the, uh, rather dramatic failsafe you witnessed, he made me work on how to make sure it didn’t kill everyone inside for the next six months.”

Carmilla shook her head in wonder. “Bags of air. Who would have thought.” 

Laura groaned and let her head fall back on the seat. “They helped with the not dying part but I’m now wondering if that would have been so bad.” She glanced at Lilita on the floor. “Without a harness I think she fared a little worse.”

Carmilla expression hardened and she barely spared her a glance. “She deserves whatever fate she got.” She stroked Laura’s cheek. “Right now you’re the only thing I care about in this world.”

Laura lifted her hand and gently placed it on Carmilla’s. “My hero. Thank you for saving me. Again.”

Carmilla leaned in and kissed her gently on the forehead. She shook her head and laughed softly.

“Cupcake, you saved yourself. I’m just here to witness your genius. And maybe kiss ywhen it’s all over.”

Laura quirked a smile. “Is it all over?”

Carmilla smiled and stroked her cheek. “I think so.”

“Then kiss me.”

So she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry this took so effing long to update!!! Life happened but YAY to not leaving this unfinished!


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After.

ONE YEAR LATER

 

Laura leaned in over her workbench, her spectacle mask giving her a magnified view of the complicated gear network.

“One more turn aaandd - oh no, oh no no nooooo - wait - waaaiiit….oh yeah, OH yeah!” She stood up lifted the spectacle mask up, shimmying out a small happy dance at the total not failure of the gear box in front of her. “Laf!” She called out. “It didn’t break in a million pieces this time!” 

The red haired scientist popped up from across the lab and launched her a thumbs up. Their own magnifying mask made their eyes bug out about twenty times the normal size. This had startled Laura a time or two in the past, particularly when Laf forgot to take them off after hours and walked around a tight corner. 

“Nice moves you got there.” Laura grinned. The low tones coming from the doorway behind her still managed to make her stomach squeeze in excitement. She turned to see Carmilla leaning in the doorway, arms crossed with one hip cocked out. 

Laura abandoned her table and skipped over to her love, throwing her arms around her and covering her face with kisses. She could practically feel Laf rolling their eyes from across the room.

“You’re out of class early!” She leaned back with her arms still thrown around Carmilla’s neck. “Or did you skip Dialectics because you couldn’t resist seeing me? It’s the grease stains, I get it. They do it for you.”

Carmilla quirked a smile at her. “Tempting as your grease stains are, I came because class let out early. And, you forgot your lunch. Again.” She lifted a paper bag and shook it at Laura. 

Laura’s stomach rumbled at the sight. “Oops.” Carmilla rolled her eyes. 

“Mad scientists,” she sighed. 

Laura gave her a peck on the cheek and snatched the lunch. “My hero.”

They settled down at a nearby work bench and Laura tore into her sandwich. Carmilla rested her head in her hand and watched her girlfriend with a small smile. Laura paused, mouth full of food.

“What?” She managed around a mouth of bread. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Always, my love, but no, that’s not it. Just…thinking. It’s been a whole year since that whole thing. One year today, actually.”

Laura swallowed and nodded. “I know, I’ve been thinking about it too.” Laura thought back on that day.

After the crash, soldiers arrived and the wagons shortly after that. Sherman and crew had managed to take back the campsite, although many of the bandits had escaped to the woods. She remembered her dad rushing to her side, fretting over every inch of her. She had gotten very lucky and was relatively unharmed other than some nasty whiplash and a few spectacular bruises.

Lilita and Mel had gotten lucky as well and while they were both knocked unconscious by the accident, they managed to survive the accident with a few broken bones. They were able to transport them and Laura to the nearest medical facility. Three broken legs, a broken collarbone and a shattered wrist between the two of them meant that neither of them was in a position to escape anytime soon. Carmilla still insisted on double guards at their door at all times. 

Eventually, they were transferred to a prison in Silas. Every now and then Carmilla slipped away, and Laura knew she was visiting the prison. When she asked her about it, Carmilla said it was just to reassure herself that they were firmly locked away. 

After the stint in the hospital, they had made their way back to Hollis manor. Lola had rushed to greet her when they finally arrived, as well as a sobbing Kirsch. He had managed to get back in the Hollis family good graces, and Laura was thrilled to see both of them. 

Her mother had stood in the doorway while they all filed in. Laura remembered how nervous Carmilla was, wringing her hands in the carriage beforehand. She had grabbed her hand and ushered her toward her mother. Halfway there, her mother let out a cry and rushed to meet her, engulfing her in her arms. After a moment she extended her arm, beckoning Carmilla to join.

“My sweet girl,” her mother had sniffled. “I’m so glad you are safe.” 

They spent the next few weeks recovering and healing at Hollis Manor. While her parents doted over her and insisted on spending much time with her and Carmilla, Laura managed to show Carmilla most of her favorite spots. They had a particularly memorable time on her lab table when everyone else was asleep.

During that time, House Hollis was busy reinventing itself. After their work on breaking up Lilita’s gang, the local government had awarded House Hollis a contract to keep the woods safe from bandits. It meant steady work, and a reversal in fortune. The halls were once again bustling with people, and her parents were happy to have something to oversee.

Laura had finally worked up the courage to ask about going to Silas to work with LaFontaine, and had been shocked when her parents agreed. They had long ago decided that it was a good opportunity for her to learn - plus, they struck up an agreement for first rights on any new inventions that would help them keep the woods safe.

After a blessedly uneventful move to Silas, Carmilla and Laura had found a quaint little place near the university. Her parents one stipulation had been to send Lola, Kirsch and Will to keep an eye on them. They took that duty very seriously, and now were next door neighbors - for better or for worse.

Carmilla decided to go to school at the esteemed Silas University and do something other than thievery. She decided on philosophy as a major, saying “if a bunch of dead guys can do it, so can I.” She was also studying theater, where she made a major impression on the casting director by auditioning with one of her carriage stopping routines. 

Laura had approached Laf’s laboratory, which happened to be in the basement of the Silas library, with a little trepidation. She had sent a letter, but would the great and brilliant LaFontaine even remember who she was or what she was supposed to be doing?

LaF had opened the door after she knocked, almost giving her a heart attack in her magnifying specs. They had lifted them up, red hair wild and..smoking? 

“Great, you’re here! I need your help. Everything is on fire.” LaF pulled her into the library, and the rest was history. LaF had warmed to their group quickly, often inviting Lola in particular to spend time in the lab. Lola, who had heard the fire story, was always quick to decline.

And now, a year later, here they were. 

“A lot can change in a year, huh?” Laura said with a half smile.

“Ain’t that the truth. But there is one thing hasn’t changed at all.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. I’m still head over heels for a brilliant, stubborn, frustrating, beautiful spoiled heiress.”

Laura grinned at her. “And you’ll always be the thief who stole my heart.”

 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for joining me on this journey! Hope you enjoyed.

**Author's Note:**

> First foray into multi chapter fic. Hope you like it. :)


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